Danny Peters is getting excited

April 2, 2002 | Leave a Comment

“Six games to go. Eighteen points to play for. Five wins would do it. It’s conceivable we won’t even need that. The lure of the Champions League will be a strong one for both United and Liverpool. Without the added distraction of Europe, Arsene and the boys can focus entirely on the job at hand. It seems a long, long time since that glorious summer of 1998 and it surely has to be a good omen to face Everton again in our final league fixture. Ever since I was little, I’ve always covered my walls with Arsenal memorabilia but since I moved to Manhattan I’ve resisted the temptation to plaster my apartment with all things red and white. My office is a different story and one entire pinboard is covered with paper cuttings I’ve had sent from the UK this season and colour printouts from the Internet. The most recent was from Monday’s Sun. “”Of course we’ll win the title”" screamed the headline, with a photo of Arsene underneath. But the one picture I do have on my apartment wall is of Tony Adams, arms outstretched, milking the applause of an ecstatic North Bank after that amazing fourth goal against Everton back in May of 1998. And I’m hoping to add another to commemorate our fourth title in 13 years.

Two easy home wins over the Easter period, seven straight Premiership wins with sixteen scored, two conceded – including five clean sheets ? have put us firmly in the driving seat and we continue our incredible record of scoring in every Premiership game this season – a fantastic achievement in itself. All season Wenger has talked about the spirit, the character and the commitment of the squad. At times his fighting talk has sounded hollow but sitting pretty atop the table it seems the manager has been right all along.

The return of Tony Adams could not be more timely, and if ever the captain was needed now is the time. Plus the skipper needs the games because he has not yet reached the ten you need to qualify for a Championship medal! I’ve thought all season we’ve had a great chance but I’ve not been more excited than I am today. Tottenham at Highbury will not be easy. United will almost certainly beat Leicester and Liverpool, like us, strong on the road this year, are at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats are five points above the relegation zone and although they will be up for the game the pressure that has surrounded them for the last month or so looks to have eased.

But as Wenger says, it doesn’t matter what everyone else does. We can concentrate on getting results, safe in the knowledge that if we do our job we will be the Champions.

66″

Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under Mailbag 

Mike Kavanagh says it will be more of the same for the big clubs

April 2, 2002 | Leave a Comment

“While I agree that some perspective must be taken in regards to football, I don’t agree that it will need to be as drastic as you paint it. In fact, I don’t think it will impact the elite clubs at all. If anything, teams such as Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool, not to mention Barca, Real Madrid, et al, will all benefit from these developments. Football is to the world what baseball is to America, and if the strike of 1994 taught us anything, it’s that people love the game, and will continue to follow it. In the 50s, when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants moved to California to become the L.A. Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, many of the baseball fans of New York were bitter, but those same fans either converted to Yankee fans, or began following other teams from around the country. Yes, there were those that stopped following baseball altogether, but the majority found new teams because they loved the game. When the Mets came into existence, many of the old Dodger and Giant fans started following them, driving home the point that fans will always be fans, and the majority of them will find another team to support.

That said, I am a firm believer in rooting for your local team. However, living in Delaware has given me a unique perspective on this. There are no major sports teams located within Delaware’s borders. Being so close to both Philadelphia and Baltimore, Delaware’s baseball fanbase is divided between the Phillies and the Orioles, the NFL fanbase split between the Eagles and the Ravens. There are minor league teams located in Delaware, and people from both camps root for those teams, but still maintain their strict allegiances to their major league clubs. Never having been to England, I can’t speak with 100% certainty, but my understanding is that this sort of thing happens there too. Perhaps not to as great a degree, but I’m sure there are Stevenage supporters who also support ManUre, Arenal or Liverpool. If for some reason Stevenage were to fold, those fans would still support the Premierhip club. I’m not suggesting that if Watford, or better yet, Spurs were to fold, that all of their fans would become Gooners, but over time, Arsenal’s fanbase would grow, and so would the fanbase of all of the elite teams. The current economic climate of the situation may cause the overall number of teams to become smaller, but as long as the product produced by those elite teams/leagues is of a high quality, the number of fans will stay the same, if not grow.

I think it’s fair to say that if ITV had had their choice, they would be broadcasting Premiership matches instead of the Nationwide League. It seems to me that the football fans of the UK have spoken by not tuning in. However, the viewership numbers for Premiership matches are astronomical. This makes me thing that television rights to the EPL will become more and more expensive and the competition to gain those rights will become more and more fierce. Advertising costs will skyrocket, and most of all, players and clubs will become richer – not poorer. To the average Premiership fan, the change will be transparent apart from a possible shortage of available tickets, but for Gooners, that’s nothing new.

“

Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under Mailbag