FAN ARTICLES
A Blue amongst the red mist
Comments (21) : At around midday Sunday I received a call from an old friend down in London asking if I would like his friend's ticket and to go to the Arsenal Everton game with him on Tuesday night, the only thing was I would be sitting in the Arsenal end? "No matter," I thought, "it can't be that bad!" And so I booked the day off and headed down to London on Tuesday.
I have been to many grounds watching Everton and have sometimes found myself having to sit with the Home fans in order to get in to the match. I have got to say that last night I have never had the misfortune of having to spend 90 minuets with the most vulgar, moaning bunch of pricks in my life.
In the first half, as Arteta was receiving treatment after Fabregas raked his studs down the back of his calf, a voice from behind me shouts "Fuck off, you Spanish twat (strange thing to say as the same bloke confessed his undying love for the Spanish Fabregas to anyone who would listen to him), I hope your son goes totally blind!" This received rather a large amount of laughter from those in ear shot and made me realise that I was in for a long night.
Phil was talking to the ref while an Arsenal player was laying dying on the floor and this riled these bunch of twats up even more "Fuck off, Phil Neville don?t have a go at him, your daughter can't even walk!" (Obviously in reference to Phils daughter who was diagnosed with Cerebral palsy and told she may of not been able to walk.) I was actually stunned!
I no longer wanted to be there and I just couldn?t believe that this sort of abuse was deemed as funny by the people around me. There?s normal football banter but this was sick, like they had actually made the effort to find things out about these people and use it to abuse them with. (I know the players couldn?t hear it but that?s not the point.)
My friend who could visibly see that I had gone from my usual happy self to quite and uncomfortable, said "I'm really sorry mate its not usually like this."
From then on there was no more disgusting abuse but the moaning began!! Saha scored and everyone was certain it was offside! Uproar all around me, the man sitting next to me assuming I was an Arsenal fan asks me "How the fuck is that not off side? He?s miles off!" I say "Not really, mate ,your defender played the ball so by the book he?s actually on side," and smiled broadly letting him know I was a bluenose.
I didn?t hear a peep out of him for the rest of the game but as for the other?s!! That was it, moaning, bitching little bastards!! As Distin launched into Song who landed in the box... "Penalty!! Penalty it has to be look at where he landed!" ? the tackle was clearly out side the box.
Walcott tries to break away and is challenged by Rodwell first and then Baines, it?s a foul but nothing more: "Red card, you have got to send him off for that, it's deliberate!"
Bilyaletdinov in there box shields the ball and the Arsenal defender kicks the ball from between his legs and off for a corner: It's clear, I'm staring straight at it, you can see it as clear as day, it's not even debatable, but all around me is uproar "How the fuck is that a corner? You wanker ref," A chant of "You don?t know what your doing" goes out around the ground. Bilyaletdinov looks at the crowd in confused amusement as if to say "For fuck's sake, come on lads, it couldn?t of been any clearer! Not one Arsenal player complained!!"
As Baines goes to take the corner, he places the ball quite close to the edge of the corner box but we all know the rule, it just has to be touching the line, that?s all, but not with this bunch of dicks! "Ref, ref, ref ? please, PLEASE look at the ball, he?s cheating, he?s cheating!!"
And so it went on for the rest of the game. I was so desperate for the boys to hang on for the 0-1 win because these fans around me deserved to have their team lose but unfortunately after their first goal, there is truly awful defending for the corner that results in the second goal and we all know the end result.
I must say though the subs Moyes made were baffling again, Neville signalled he was struggling so fair enough, he had to go off, but surely as we had gone 2-1 down, the thing to do would have been to bring Anichebe and Beckford on and push Coleman back to right back, Anichebe on the right and two upfront?!!
But instead he went like for like, Jags to right back, Anichebe to right wing, stick with 1 up front? Baffling really... but that?s not why I wanted to write this. All I know is that the next time we are at the Emirates and my mate offers me a ticket to sit with him in the Arsenal end, I will politely decline.
Reader Comments (21)
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2 Posted 02/02/2011 at 14:35:30
3 Posted 02/02/2011 at 14:42:00
Whilst not condoning the offensive remarks, I don't think we could claim that this is Arsenal-specific. All teams have fans who are dickheads... including Everton.
Also, by the book - he's still offside.
From the laws of the game: "?gaining an advantage by being in that position? means playing a ball
that rebounds to him off a goalpost or the crossbar having been in an
offside position or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent
having been in an offside position"
4 Posted 02/02/2011 at 15:07:57
5 Posted 02/02/2011 at 15:18:21
On a separate note, what a wonderful stadium the Emirates is. I was lucky enough to be in the Club level via a mate's invite. I tell you, we will never compete properly until we can have these kind of facilities.
6 Posted 02/02/2011 at 15:21:13
We both went nuts (as did a few other blues hidden away in there).
One feller behind called us "Scaarse scam" but we were so happy we didn't give a fuck.
Laughing, I said to him "you can call us aaaaaanything you fucking want, 2-1!".
Nobody else said anything and later on, I thought they actually weren't a bad lot and had it been one of them jumping around in the Park End at a last minute winner well....ex-ACTLY.
I was also (with quite a few other blues) in with Spurs fans years ago at their place when, from 3-0 down, we came back to draw 3-3.
We kept quite when we got one back, even when the second went in, but the third?
Again pure happiness and we went nuts.
Rather than us get beaten to fuck, our reaction created panic as nobody knew who was who, or how many.
I think there's a psychology to being an away supporter in with the home fans.
As much as they don't want you there, when you go completely nuts at a goal, most of them are thinking "these fellers must be insane" and most steer clear (that's what I'd do)
Or..maybe we were just lucky.
7 Posted 02/02/2011 at 15:43:15
The personal attacks on the children seems out of line but considering how much we chant "the baby's not yours" at a certain cheating, diving, whining, DJ assaulting, media darling with a messiah-complex, I'm not sure you can take the moral high-ground on that one. By a similar token, sitting with the Everton fans last night there were two incidents that stood out last night regarding the twattish behaviour of which our own fans can be capable.
The first was when my father returned from the toilets at half time and told me about the young black lad in the toilets to whom some wag commented ?hey it?s Beckford?s brother?, a comment that had him and all his mates at stitches. Now I?m sure the kid was more annoyed and simply rolled his eyes, but it reminded me of the other racist comments I?ve heard at previous Everton matches; the monkey noise someone made at Brentford, the gas chamber hisses at Spurs, the world?s fattest and angriest man at Fulham screaming ?coon? at a steward and calling Jo a ?useless bone idle black c***? to the amusement of his family.
The second was when Sagna took one of his many dives in front of our fans, claiming that hulking beast of a man Leon Osman has hurt him in some way. Like everyone else I vented my fury at him and the ref with some choice expletives ? however, some pillock thought it would be a good idea to hurl a coin at him instead. He missed, as the coin smacked me on the back of the head instead.
I should point out that I am not absolving Arsenal fans of blame. The things you heard were despicable and people like that should be banned from grounds. Most of my friends are Arsenal fans and one of them for years sat behind a genuine Alf Garnett style racist for years at Highbury. And indeed most of them whinge and moan incessantly at the world being against them every time their players go to ground softly and don?t get a free kick. However, the abuse that the minority of their fans shout is no worse than what the minority of our fans have been heard to shout.
8 Posted 02/02/2011 at 15:40:36
9 Posted 02/02/2011 at 15:55:50
I went away to Fulham a couple of seasons ago with my little lad
who was only 10 at the time, one of the black players ( Can't remember who he was ) went over to take a corner for Fulham, he was racially abused something terrible, he actually looked shocked, not as much as my little lad though.
Every game I have ever been to Chris, there has been abuse, whinging , moaning from our own fans, it happens at every ground in the country, not just at Arsenal.
10 Posted 02/02/2011 at 16:00:14
As James says, let he who is without sin.....
11 Posted 02/02/2011 at 16:03:20
12 Posted 02/02/2011 at 16:06:35
Next time you get the chance,, have a look at the live forum, for abuse, it wins hands down.
13 Posted 02/02/2011 at 16:16:13
We scored two in the first half and I made the most of displaying my pleasure to their supporters. At half time the stewards 'suggested' that I go the Everton end to avoid a lynching. I think we eventually won on penalties.
14 Posted 02/02/2011 at 16:31:18
" I hope he dies in his sleep "
One aimed at Harry Redknapp
" Melted candle face "
By the way, this isen't having a dig at you lads who posted them, I'm just as guilty as the next blue for hurling abuse. I'm just pointing out that we are as bad as the fans of other clubs.
15 Posted 02/02/2011 at 16:47:26
16 Posted 02/02/2011 at 19:23:53
18 Posted 02/02/2011 at 20:50:59
19 Posted 03/02/2011 at 00:03:10
20 Posted 03/02/2011 at 00:26:03
I was watching the 09 FA Cup Final in the Pig n Whistle in Brisbane, where Toffees outnumbered Pensioners about 2-1. The pub had gone to all the effort with team songs on the sound system and banners everywhere.
As we were many and they were few, we all took stand in the front section, with the Shepherd's Bush Homecomers taking their rightful position at the back of the pub.
My mate brought two pints back just in time for kick-off, so, needless to say I still had a good half left by the time Louis got THAT goal. By the time Chelsea kicked it off for the restart, I was drenched, two thirds of the pub was ecstatic, and my pint was empty.
I was at the bar getting the next one when Drogba got his equaliser, and came back to all sorts of nonsense ...
One of the Chelsea scum in the front of their section had thought it a good idea to throw an empty pint into our group, from behind no less.
The girl it hit in the back of the head had been standing right in front of where I'd been standing, and her bloke (kitted out proudly in the Lescott no.16 shirt from when he was the king!) and his mates were right in the middle of the Chelsea fans, going hell for leather. Fucking Chelsea Scum!
They showed their true colours at half time though when the sent a delegate over to us and said, "We didn't see who it was, but he's gone."
Out reply: "If you have no idea who did it, how do you know he's gone, you fuckers!"
Ruined the whole night.
21 Posted 03/02/2011 at 00:26:03
I was watching the 09 FA Cup Final in the Pig n Whistle in Brisbane, where Toffees outnumbered Pensioners about 2-1. The pub had gone to all the effort with team songs on the sound system and banners everywhere.
As we were many and they were few, we all took stand in the front section, with the Shepherd's Bush Homecomers taking their rightful position at the back of the pub.
My mate brought two pints back just in time for kick-off, so, needless to say I still had a good half left by the time Louis got THAT goal. By the time Chelsea kicked it off for the restart, I was drenched, two thirds of the pub was ecstatic, and my pint was empty.
I was at the bar getting the next one when Drogba got his equaliser, and came back to all sorts of nonsense ...
One of the Chelsea scum in the front of their section had thought it a good idea to throw an empty pint into our group, from behind no less.
The girl it hit in the back of the head had been standing right in front of where I'd been standing, and her bloke (kitted out proudly in the Lescott no.16 shirt from when he was the king!) and his mates were right in the middle of the Chelsea fans, going hell for leather. Fucking Chelsea Scum!
They showed their true colours at half time though when the sent a delegate over to us and said, "We didn't see who it was, but he's gone."
Out reply: "If you have no idea who did it, how do you know he's gone, you fuckers!"
Ruined the whole night.
22 Posted 03/02/2011 at 10:07:24
I've learnt from my mistake though because I won't be sitting with Arsenal fans again, if I can't get a ticket with my own fans then that's just my bad luck!
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1 Posted 02/02/2011 at 14:28:07
Happy to say I've never had an experience quite as bad as yours, but isn't it funny how your mate, whose football opinion you used to rate, suddenly turns into a know-nothing moron when your team plays his!
As for the comments you refer too, they are a total disgrace, as was the behaviour of a lot of the Arsenal players after we scored last night. Moyes obviously highlighted the Fabregas incident, and whatever Moyes heard...