A Quick Rant as Arsenal's Season Nears the End and the Mets' Season Looks Over Just as it Begins

This is a quick one. With 2 games left in the EPL season Arsenal's grip on third place is, shall we say, precarious. The team's 1 point lead over Spuds and Newcastle is slight and the only guarantee Arsenal have for third place and definite Champions League football next season is to stay in this position.

In the past, victory over Norwich and West Brom was pretty much a done deal. In this season of mixed form, however, every Arsenal fan is filled with anxiety and fear. If Arsenal win both, it doesn't matter what anyone else does. Spuds will play Villa away and Fulham at home while Newcastle have two tough game remaining at home versus Mercenary City (a.k.a. Man City) and away to Everton. Ideally it would be great to see Arsenal secure third and Newcastle fourth with Tottenham missing out. However, at this point, I'm just concerned with the Gunners.

Torres and Chelsea hardly look like European Champions

One possible snag in the top 4 finish is Chelsea. Currently in 6th, it's going to take close to a miracle for Chelsea to finish in the top 4. However, despite playing like crap for large portions of the season, Chel$ki have somehow made it to the Champions League final. If they actually go on and win, they will automatically get one of the four spots despite finishing outside the top 4. This pisses every EPL purist off as Chelsea couldn't even win at home today to Newcastle. They played like crap and hardly look like potential Champions of Europe. I cannot see Chelsea beating Bayern in Munich, but stranger things have happened. It would be so undeserved, but again, Arsenal don't have to worry about Chelsea if they just go out and take care of their own business. Their destiny is in their own hands and I expect them to take advantage of this!

One great bit of news out of the Arsenal camp is the signing of German international Lukas Podolski who comes to North London with his own catchy little song.





Outside of Arsenal, the recovery of Fabrice Muamba and his return to the Reebok Stadium before today's game is truly inspirational. The guy is a walking miracle!




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As for the Mets...It might as well have been April Fool's Day for the entire month. The no name bankrupt Mets actually played some decent baseball during the first month of the season. After starting off 4-0 the Mets finished April with a respectable 13-10 record. The cracks were definitely starting to show, however. Take for example last week's 18-9 loss to Colorado. Not only did the Mets give up 11 runs in one inning,  they committed 6 errors in what the Daily News eloquently called a "debacle".

On the good side, Johan Santana looks like the Johan of old. David Wright is off to a hot start and Lucas Duda is showing signs of becoming the slugger the Mets have desperately needed.

On the bad side, Jason Bay and Mike Pelfrey getting hurt and being out, actually improves the team. That pretty much sums it up. I'm a die hard fan of this team and even I don't know who half the guys are that the Mets put out on the field every day.Who the hell are Chris Schwinden, Jordany Valdespin, Zach Lutz and Mike Baxter? When you're running out Scott Hairston and Mike Nickeas on a regular basis, you know that you are supporting a horrible team. Even the good brings with it some bad. Daniel Murphy has proven that he is a solid hitter and has come through at the plate on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, as the Mets play in the National League, Daniel Murphy is required to play defense as well. He is currently on pace to finish the year with 34 errors.

Daniel Murphy makes another error

The best surprise has been the discovery of outfielder Kirk Neuwenhuis. The kid has been impressive at the plate, in the field and on the bases. He looks and plays like a young Lenny Dykstra and is quickly becoming a fan favorite.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis, the new Mr. Met

As April turned to May, the Mets began a series in Houston against the "lowly" Astros. They lost a heart breaker on Monday 4-3 and were then humiliated on Tuesday and Wednesday. I suppose I shouldn't care as the team is just living up to its expectations.

Meanwhile, the new "fiscally responsible" New York Yankees are looking a bit shaky themselves. They are also twisting the facts on their new budget managing skills as this Global Sports Salaries report shows. Check out number 6...as for the Mets...at least the club's drop from 30 to 63 shows that they are lousy for a reason. (Thank you Bernie Madoff).

A Great Weekend To Be A Fan of Arsenal and the Mets

The return of the mercenary

What an amazing weekend. Not only is the weather in New York awesome but the Mets are 3-0 to start the season while the mighty Yankees are 0-3. Then there's Arsenal and the team's victory over the money grubbing mercenaries of Manchester City. This weekend was the sports equivalent of winning the lottery!

Back in October Arsenal fans were treated to headlines such as Once-proud Arsenal is a club in crisis and this one from February Former Arsenal boss Graham lays blame for Gunners' crisis squarely at Wenger's feet.Yes, there have been some dire performances this season and the 8-2 loss back in August was humiliating. However, in football as in all sports, it's not where you start but where you finish. (Check out the EPL table from August 28th.)

Interestingly enough, last season Arsenal were cruising until February and then it all fell apart. This year it's been the opposite. The instability surrounding the club at the start of the season was a major detriment and led to the poor start. However, since an uninspired 0-0 draw at Bolton on February 1st Arsenal have won 7 out of 8 of their league games.

Vermaelen seals the win versus Newcastle

• Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn
• Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal
• Arsenal 5-2 Spuds
• Liverpool 1-2 Arsenal
• Arsenal 2-1 Newcastle
• Everton 0-1 Arsenal
• Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa

Watching how great the team played today it's shocking that they lost last week at QPR.

Then came today's match and the return of the greedy and disrespectful Samir Nasri. Not only would a win be vital for Arsenal's quest for a top 4 finish, it would be the biggest F.U. to Na$ri and the high priced individuals that Manchester City call a team. While fans of other teams question why Arsenal supporters are hating on Nasri for taking a big payday, remember this headline? New Manchester City star Samir Nasri claims Arsenal lack ambition. Or this one? Nasri: Move not about money – I am at City simply to win trophies. But it's even more than just the cocky, rude and arrogant comments from Nasri. It was the total disrespect that he showed to the club, the manager and the fans. Wenger and Arsenal gave Nasri the platform to establish himself and rather than leave with class, he pretty much said screw you and left.

So today's game was payback time. Manchester City spent a ton of money to buy the EPL title and in recent weeks, the wheels have come off of City's title bid. A defeat at the Emirates would leave City 8 points behind United with 6 games left. For the first time that I can remember, United fans were rooting for Arsenal and in the end thanking them for giving City another damaging blow.

The new and better number 8.

Arsenal didn't just win...they dominated the game...every time Na$ri touched the ball he was booed. It didn't really matter though as Alex Song and company owned Na$ri & he was barely involved in the match. Arsenal got what they deserved when Arteta drilled the ball in to the back of the net in the 87th minute and the game ended 1-0.

The Balotelli show

Then there was the comedy show that is Mario Balotelli. The guy is probably the biggest moron in world football right now. In between his hookers, car crashes and boozing he's supposedly a good football player. Not today. He almost broke Alex Song's leg early in the first half and should have been sent off. But no. Miraculously nobody but the 60,000 people inside the stadium and a worldwide viewing audience noticed the foul. He didn't even get a yellow. So you'd think the guy would realize he got away with one there and calm down...no way. He finally got a yellow for trying to break Bacary Sagna's ankle and capped off a fine display of stupidity by doing it again late in the game. Finally he got the red card he deserved. In reality he should have gotten 2 red cards!

About time

Lastly, the sight of Carlos Tevez coming on as a sub late in the game to "save" City was beyond hysterical. After what he did to his manager, team and fans earlier this season it is beyond shameful how City came grovelling to take back this ungrateful waste. Great way to set an example Mancini...you look like the biggest  and most desperate fool.

Based upon Arsenal's late season play, it's looking good for the future of a team that was "in crisis" just a few months back.

Team unity

How does the Poznan go?

North London is red

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As for the Mets...everyone is predicting them to finish dead last in the National League East and unfortunately they're probably right. That doesn't change the fact that I'm still going to root for them and support them regardless of how the Wilpons and Bernie Madoff have screwed up this team.

While 3 games out of 162 is just a blip, it's nice to see the Mets sweep the Braves to open the season. Even when the Mets were "good" they never seemed to be able to sweep any series.

Duda raises the apple 

Some of the bright spots early on include the strong return of Johan Santana, the home run power of Lucas Duda and the strong bullpen performance. The season is long, but it doesn't hurt to start off strong and gain some confidence...especially when everyone expects you to fail.

Adding to the enjoyment of seeing the Mets begin 3-0 was seeing the big, bad Yankees owned by Tampa Bay. CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera were beaten up badly and the Yankees are definitely looking old. In fact, when the camera focused in on the Yankees' dugout there were a large number of noticeable receding hair lines.  Perhaps the New York papers will follow the lead of those in the UK and report on a "Crisis in the Bronx."

Leading the league in receding hairlines

North London is Red

North London is Red (so is the scoreboard)

Less than two weeks ago all the talk surrounding Arsenal was negative. The sports writers and pundits were speaking of the demise of the club and the possibility that Arsene Wenger's job might be in jeopardy.

To be fair, when Arsenal got humiliated by AC Milan at the San Siro and followed that up with a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland in the FA Cup, there were plenty of negatives to focus on.  However, with 3 months still to play in the EPL season it was beyond maddening to hear the "experts" talk of Arsenal's certain fall from the top 4 and Tottenham's ascendancy as the top team in North London.

So here we are just a few weeks later and my how things have changed. With two consecutive come from behind victories over sides that were picked to defeat Arsenal, the Gunners are now sitting in the much coveted fourth place position. With Chelsea losing to West Brom, Arsenal have opened a three point gap between the two clubs in the fight for the last Champions League spot. It doesn't stop there, however, as Arsenal have closed the gap on their "noisy neighbors" to just four points following their defeat to Man United.

Rosicky ran riot through the Spuds

The "North London is White" proclamations have slowed down as those who call White Hart Lane home are currently very nervous. It was looking like this might be the year without the holiday known as St. Totteringham's Day...but we may be celebrating it this year after all.

Arsenal's comeback from a two goal deficit to Tottenham may just be the spark that gives this team the confidence it needed to prove all their critics wrong.  It was fantastic to re-watch the game and see those smug Spurs fans that were taunting Arsenal in the first half, looking crestfallen and shocked after their team was mauled by Robin van Persie, Bacary Sagna, Theo Walcott and a resurgent Tomas Rosicky. 0-2 became 5-2 and you could feel that rightful order was being restored in North London.

The doubt still lingered in the minds of all the pundits as Arsenal traveled north  to Anfield for a meeting with Liverpool.  Liverpool have had their own troubles this season but the talk going in to this match was the high that Liverpool must be on from winning the Carling Cup last weekend. No disrespect is intended but it took Liverpool extra time and penalties to defeat lower league Cardiff City. Not the type of an achievement that would leave rivals quaking in their boots.

RVP gets goal number one at Anfield

Listening to Ian Darke & Steve McManaman call the game on ESPN was beyond irritating. Macca's blatant rooting for his old team was over the top. When the pair announced that Arsenal would be happy with a draw and one point with ten minutes left in the game I knew that Arsenal would make them eat their words....sure enough Robin van Persie broke the home fans' hearts and shut the critics up (at least for now).

Reading all the glowing reviews of the game and the adoration being bestowed upon the Gunners from those that were just trashing them is quite satisfying.

As I said earlier, there is still a lot of the season left and things may change again. However, it's nice to see that old adage don't count your chickens until they're hatched ring true.

RVP finishes off Liverpool

As an addendum it looks as if one of my favorite websites will have to stop running as there is no longer a need for it. Check out Has Andre Villas-Boas Been Sacked Yet?

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Spring Training is here and the Mets are in Port St. Lucie preparing for the new season. While it's hard to get overly excited based on the low expectations for the team and with the Wilpons still in control, it's always great when baseball returns. 

Sadly for the Mets, the biggest news out of Florida is that first baseman Ike Davis is being treated for some ailment called "Valley Fever". If any team could have a player come down with some bizarre rare affliction, it's the Mets.  As we saw last season, Ike's absence from the lineup is a huge loss. Let's hope valley fever passes quickly.

Hopefully Ike hasn't given Jason Bay valley fever.  What is valley fever?

Arsenal's 7 Year Drought In Comparison to the Mets' 26 Year Drought

Arsenal lift the 2005 FA Cup

These are tough times for Arsenal fans as the club's up and down season has been all downhill of late. Following Arsenal's 3-2 FA Cup comeback victory over Aston Villa at the end of January things were starting to look up. This, however, was followed up by a lifeless and uninspired 0-0 draw with an inferior Bolton squad.

The following week saw the Gunners come out with a brash confidence and absolutely destroy Blackburn at The Emirates 7-1. Next came Arsenal's 2-1 comeback victory away to Sunderland with Thierry Henry scoring the game winner in extra time. The win, combined with some fortuitous results elsewhere, put Arsenal back into the 4th spot and things were starting to look up.

Then came a little midweek trip to Milan. Arsenal were beginning their home and away match-up with AC Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League. Back in 2008, the Gunners defeated Milan 2-0 over two legs at this same point in the competition and progressed on to the quarter-finals. Fans were optimistic and hopeful heading in to the match, but the team flat out let everyone down. They stunk. It was a total embarrassment and the final 4-0 scoreline was actually flattering to the team. Unless a miracle occurs during the second leg in London, Arsenal will have limped out of Europe's elite club competition.

Victory in Milan 2008

Sadly, sucking up early exits from competitions has become a regular part of being an Arsenal supporter. So, with the humiliating defeat behind them, the team turned its attention to its 5th round FA Cup match-up with Sunderland. Arsenal had beaten Martin O'Neill's squad one week earlier and Gooners crossed their fingers for a committed team performance.

Instead it was another disaster, highlighted by the feeble play of the absolutely horrible Sebastien Squillacci and Johan Djourou. Djourou seems like a nice guy and comes across as a funny person on the weekly Arsenal 360, but the truth is he is a terrible defender. As for Squillacci, an oak tree would probably give Arsenal better defensive cover than the clumsy Frenchman. The 2-0 defeat saw the Gunners exit yet another competition early.

The journalists have been merciless, the fans have been hostile and former players are labeling this Arsenal side the worst they've seen during the Arsene Wenger era. Many are calling for him to be fired and for a massive fire sale of the under performing players.

I agree that changes are necessary, however, the nastiness and entitlement coming from all directions are pretty shocking. The fact that Arsenal have not won a trophy since their 2005 FA Cup victory over Manchester United has been repeated constantly for the past 7 years. I will say that not being a local and not having grown up with a family tradition of Arsenal, may make my assessment of the situation different than others. However, I find a number of the daggers being thrown at Arsenal a bit unfair and a bit over the top. This article from The Telegraph sums up my point very well. 

First, there are only so many trophies up for grabs each season. In looking back at all trophies that have been awarded to English clubs since Arsenal last won one in 2005, there are only 7 teams that have won silverware. Granted five of them are Arsenal's main rivals (Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham).  The other two, Birmingham City and Porstmouth have been relegated from the EPL and are playing in lower divisions. So, the truth be told, there are lots of teams that have not won a trophy in 7 years and even more. Of course, we all think that Arsenal are not just another team and that they should be achieving more. Yet a bit of reality is a good thing when looking at the current state of things.

Second, not every team can be the best. Some Arsenal fans seem to behave like Yankee fans in my opinion. As if the trophies and championships are just a foregone conclusion. In the 15 seasons that Arsene Wenger has been in charge, Arsenal have never finished lower than 4th. So, perhaps complacency has set in and we all think it's our divine right to have the best team year in and year out.

In looking back at previous Arsenal seasons, the team finished 5th in 1996, 12th in 1995, 10th in 1993. These are just a few of the seasons where the team underachieved. Did they come back from these down seasons? Yes. Did the club cease to exist and fade into oblivion? No. Folks really need to CHILL OUT. Again, it's just my opinion. Of course I want my team to win everything all the time. Unfortunately life doesn't work that way and fans stick with their team through the good times (there have been many) and the bad times (just the past few seasons and even the bad seasons aren't that bad).

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The 1986 New York Mets

When I hear all the nastiness tossed around over Arsenal not winning a trophy in 7 years I can't help but think about how long it's been since the Mets won a championship. It was 1986 to be precise. In a city where the crosstown Yankees buy up as many championships as possible (sort of like Chelsea & now Man City) 26 years seems like a really long time. Of course the Mets had a chance in 2006 and came up short. Then of course they broke fans' hearts by choking down the stretch 2 years in a row in 2007-2008. While Arsenal fans have reason to moan somewhat this season, the Mets practically serve up irritation to their fans on a silver platter. Yet we keep coming back for more.

86 years later

Fans of some other teams would actually consider us Mets fans lucky. Before the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, it had been 86 years since Boston were champions.  An entire generation of Red Sox fans never got to see one of the most popular franchises in baseball history win. Still, they are some of the most loyal fans in the game.

As for ongoing droughts...pity the poor Cleveland Indians fan. It's been 63 years since the Indians were on top of the baseball world. Yet super fan John Adam continues to beat his bass drum from the cheap seats season after season. 

Cleveland celebrates in 1948

The trophy for the most loyal suffering fan base has to go to the Chicago Cubs. The last time the Cubs won a championship was 104 years ago in 1908. Despite this, Cubs fans pack Wrigley Field every season.

It may not be fair to compare the two sports, but as someone used to supporting a perennial loser (the Mets), a 7 year drought between trophies for Arsenal is a bummer but not a sign of imminent collapse of one of England's most successful clubs.

104 years and counting for Chicago Cubs fans

Remembering Gary Carter

Arsenal are taking a back seat today as the sad news that Gary Carter has died from brain cancer was announced this afternoon.  The former Mets catcher was first diagnosed with brain tumors less than a year ago and the disease quickly took his life in an incredibly cruel fashion.

For Mets fans, Carter will always be remembered as the catcher for the 1986 World Series Championship team. His single in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 6 with the Mets down by 2 runs with 2 out was the catalyst for one of the most incredible comebacks in baseball history. The image of Carter celebrating in the arms of pitcher Jesse Orosco after the Mets clinched the series is one of those indelible images forever ingrained in the minds of all Mets fans.

The Hall of Famer is being spoke of in glowing terms by his former teammates and fellow players. In a testament to his love of the game, Carter showed up to opening night of Palm Beach Atlantic University's season just two weeks ago tonight. As the team's head coach, Carter was committed to being there for the start of the new season despite his grave condition.                                                                                  Gary Carter is gone too soon. He will be missed but always remembered.

Wenger Out, Wenger In: Is The Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

Arsenal's 3-2 victory over Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup was a tale of two halves. Despite dominating possession, Arsenal found themselves down by 2 goals going in to the half. The booing at the Emirates was loud and the angst of Arsenal fans on Twitter filled my time line...with many "fans" directing their anger at manager Arsene Wenger and calling for his head.

Whatever Wenger said to the team at half-time worked. They came out and took control of the game and within 16 minutes were on top 3-2. They then held on and ran out the clock to secure victory and their place in the 5th round. Cheers were heard at the Emirates and true fans were filling my Twitter time line with positive statements and telling the "Wenger out" brigade to shove it.

RVP turns the jeers to cheers

In essence, the division among the fans mirrors the two halves of the fixture...one half poor and one half great. Personally, I am disgusted at the vile things supposed Arsenal "fans" are saying about one of the greatest football managers ever. (Check out my last post for more specifics on the two types of fans.) Wenger has brought so much to Arsenal over the last 15 years and to see him treated with such disrespect is disgusting. There is definitely a spoiled "what have you done for me lately" contingent that call themselves Arsenal fans. These folks need a reality check.

These two tweets were my favorites of the day and represent exactly what I'm talking about with regards to the split that currently exists between Arsenal fans:

ArgentoTD
Well done AFC for getting it in from somewhere #InArseneWeTrust. I bet it was a Twitter of 2 halfs on here earlier. #COYG

Sydneyzw
@Piersmorgan I beg to differ I think there is a group that want Wenger out and a group that says #InArseneWeTrust. All fans want trophies.

Rather than go on and on, I thought I'd let the words of actual Arsenal supporters show the divide that currently exists. So here in their own words are the two halves of Arsenal fans:

The "Wenger Out" Crowd

markbennett2011
Only gonna play football now, no more watching/supporting. Can't take this bullshit anymore #arsenal #WengerOut


JoshuaSweeney
Quality finish by Bent. Arsenal are a shambles. As always #WENGEROUT


j_bamford
Absolutely nothing about today's game lends support to the Wenger apologists. Quite the opposite. #wengerout #afc


karimboularbah
Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa #wengerout HT

BarnysArmy
The worst thing about my weekend is being an #Arsenal supporter, this shit is devastating. Hate to say it, but it's time. #WengerOut


JohnnyMartinAFC
There's literally no excuses any more #WengerOut


EdinGooner1
#arsenal #arsenallive enough is enough this, is going to far we need to win something #timeforchange #wengerout out out out


Bylesie27
#arsenal #Afc this is bollocks!! Wenger your a complete cunt, just fuck off out of out club now. It's embarrassing. So glad I gave up my ST

dspsjs
#Arsenal Now do you AW backers see he has lost the plot. Time to move out. #wengerout


ajo_R
You can say what you want, but we are in fucking misery again with Wenger.... #Arsenal #wengerout


Wazza_86
@mjallenjune what is happening to us?! It's a shambles!! #wengerout


Lee_Sherminator
Wenger has to go after this game, he is an actual disgrace to AFC #wengerout


DiscoDan142
Fucking terrible do the right thing and resign!!! Your taking us in one direction! Your time is up! #wengerout


rmhfootymerch
I agree with everyone on my time line enough is enough & 7 years without a trophy with our club is not good enough #WengerOut


Lapsy09
4th loss in a row?? #WengerOut


MattNewman93
Same old shit #Arsenal #WengerOut


HazhirAmir14
@MessiMinutes fuck this. I'm supporting Barca #wengerout


ShjBoySalim
4th defeat in a row #Wengerout #WeNeedAMiracle


jackthirlaway
I've had enough of this rubbish, time to jump on the band wagon #WengerOut


Sam19Yannis
@MaxBakerDFW #WengerOut I'm officially done and I'm 100% serious this time, not Arsene the board

ChalireDickens7
Would happily buy Wenger a one way ticket to France #Wengerout


grizzlybaz
Oh FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!! Switching the radio off now, can't be arsed listening to another #Arsenal humiliation #WengerOut


taoyung
Safe to say Arsenal are out of the FA Cup...#Wengerout..??

TPettifer0304
4 defeats in a row? #spendsomefuckingmoney #wengerout


lewymalone
Glad I'm missing this fucker #wengerout #afc

The "In Arsene We Trust" Loyalists


Frimponged
This win is very good for our confidence. Also where are all the Wenger haters now? I don't see anyone screaming #WengerOut now. Dumbasses.

AFCMarc73
We stuck together as ONE...Up The Mighty Gunners! #InArseneWeTrust. Night all

princesssaraheq
@piersmorgan Actually not everyone was booing the players off. Some of us were getting behind the team for a better 2nd half  #InArseneWeTrust


matthewdoddsey
all fans calling for wengers head should be very careful what they wish for #inarsenewetrust


henrytt3
A very welcome return for Arteta and Sagna. A brilliant second half performance that has rightly silenced the doubters. #AFC #InArseneWeTrust


JamaalQuailey27
Just got back from the Arsenal, great game! #bouncebackability #inarsenewetrust


londonn87
@samuelj29060 I love Arsene #InArseneWeTrust


BSTURGE1986
#InArseneWeTrust take back my comments from early. Very angry at the time!! #goonerpower


Elliot_Flowers
This is why I'm an Arsenal fan! #InArseneWeTrust


johnny_marsh42
arsene wenger you fucking genius, I'm sorry for ever losing faith .#inarsenewetrust #theprofessorcomesgoodagain


Z4YNAB
Two nil down 3 nil up. We're gonna win the FA Cup!! #InArseneWeTrust


Neloversion
RT @TheGoonerArmy: Dear Beliebers, do u mind loggin out of twitter for a couple of mins? We're trying to get #InArseneWeTrust trending


MissGoonerAFC
You guys have absolutely no idea of what it's like to be a Manager and what it involves...#InArseneWeTrust That's all I have to say.

dinkarnold
The Professor gave #AFC a test and they fucking passed with class! #InArseneWeTrust


Hairil90
We never give up..have faith and the boys will surely repay your faith...#InArseneWeTrust #GoonerPower


toby_hs
Brilliant second half performance. Sorry was the "Arsene Out" at half time  #inarsenewetrust


JanViskoper
Wenger doesn't have to justify his actions to anyone! He is a legend! #InArsenewetrust #AFC


lotamaster
By the way dumbasses we went 2-0 down to 3-2 WITH NO SUBS. Still criticizing? #InArseneWeTrust COYG


MimiGooner 
Just allow those negative Gooners who said Arsene out etc. Enjoy the victory. Those people will feel like fools whether they admit it or not.

The_North_Bank
The boo boys around always make me laugh. Spent whole of first half whining and spent the whole of second half squiming #supporttheteam


Bosscielny
"Fans" who find joy in Arsenal losing to prove their point are a disgrace to the club, the other fans and more importantly, themselves.

positivegunner
So all of you who tweeted me and asked if I can find anything positive about this...do I need to find anything more positive than this comeback?

Gooner_Keyz
Fuck the doubters. #inarsenewetrust


ArranK
Hope that silences all the narrow minded people calling for wengers head #genius #InArseneWeTrust


LjMcCann4
Great come back from the boys what fighting spirit! #InArsenewetrust #AFC


goonergurl20
FUCKYOU WENGER HATERS!!!! #InArseneWeTrust


tmann14
I don't want to say I told you so but look at my tweet at half time...#IToldYouSo #InArseneWeTrust #ILoveYouArsenal


TomMaggsAFC
All Anti Wenger people, He changed the game with his team talk, Walcott was immense, Ramsey was superb #InArseneWeTrust


mo_telford
@piersmorgan start supporting and stop your moaning! You embarrass yourself every week! #inarsenewetrust

BhavishMenon
Hopefully all those who wanted Wenger out just after 1st half can rot in hell now...#InArseneWeTrust


dbarham88
Form is temporary, class is permanent! #LeaveItYeah #inarsenewetrust #AFC


JordyVanderkley
RT @GIGIHOSNY: No other manager Could've turned a game Like This #InArseneWeTrust


Bad877
I Love Arsene Wenger for everything he's brought to our club, including the high expectations of the plastic fans. #InArseneWeTrust

Fan Loyalty - Die-Hard or Fair-Weather?

While Wikipedia is not considered the most credible source on the planet, I am turning to it for a couple of simple definitions:

Fan loyalty: is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Allegiances can be strong or weak. The loyalties of sports fans have been studied by psychologists, who have determined several factors that create such loyalties. Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions.

Fair-weather fans: Fans who only follow their team when they are winning.

Die-hard fans: Fans who follow their team no matter they are winning or losing.

I have turned to these definitions as recent events for the teams that I support have been pretty abysmal and fan loyalty is definitely being tested.

Arsenal have lost 3 straight League matches (2 of them to weaker opponents) and the club is currently fighting for a top 4 finish which has been a given since the '95-'96 season. Weaknesses in the squad have been exposed and fans are starting to vent their anger at each other. I personally find both situations sad. As a fan of the club, I am definitely bummed that they are not as strong as they have been in the Arsene Wenger era. However, I am also bummed to see the nastiness of some fans towards the team, the manager, the players and each other when things go bad. (One example is the "fan" who threatened to "murder" Aaron Ramsey following last week's terrible loss to Swansea and another is the name calling Twitter "conversation" that I just saw in my time line between 3 Arsenal fans).

I have no interest in judging how others should feel or show their support for a team. I am just questioning those that turn so nasty when things don't go their way.

English Football and American Baseball have very little in common but when I look at the New York Mets in comparison to Arsenal I see a glaring difference in fan expectation. The Mets have a 50 year history of underachieving. Mets fans have to have thick skin as we live in the same town as the Championship buying entitled Yankees. The 2012 baseball season hasn't even started yet and everyone is predicting last place for the hapless Mets...yet the fans remain loyal to the club (not the owners though who have further tarnished the club by their personal association with Bernie Madoff). Mets fans would be thrilled to not finish in last place. Yes we want the team to win, but there are 30 teams in the league and only one can win the title. The fact is that 29 fan bases will be left disappointed.  Most teams have their ups and downs. We live with the Mets and sadly lose with the Mets. Mets fans just keep hoping for that time when they will be on top. It will be that much sweeter when it happens.

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans expect trophies and a top 4 finish no matter what. I will always support Arsenal and I want the trophies and championships for the club as well. However, no team has a divine right to win everything. (Yes, even the Yankees). Arsenal have been a shell of themselves this season and yet they are in 5th place out of 20 teams. Overall that is pretty damn good. I can only imagine how hard it is to be a fan of teams such as Wigan, Bolton, Leeds, Blackpool, West Ham, Blackburn, etc. Yet, they have loyal fans that put up with the ups and many downs of the clubs they support. 

Don't even get me going on the New York Jets who haven't been to the Super Bowl since 1969. It would be easy to just turn on them and support the Giants who always seem to find a way to win. That would be easy...but it would also be seen as being a "fair weather fan" rather than a "die-hard".

I choose to remain a die-hard fan and support my teams no matter whether they are winning or losing. I'd prefer winning but die-hard fans don't always get the choice.