I don't tend to blog much about football, it's too important. I tend to stick with the mere life and death issues of politics and energy, climate change and the EU. It's much easier. Besides there are loads of really fantastic Arsenal blogs which I won't name here for fear of missing someone out. Suffice it to tell you that I am unworthy to touch the hem of the garment of the writers of these blogs. And that is not said sarcastically or facetiously but genuinely. There really is some great stuff out there.
Funny, tactically brilliant, often challenging; capturing the mood of most Arsenal fans on a daily basis.
But I did just want to make a very small contribution if I may?
The thing is, we're nearly back. It's been a while and we have been meandering, doing OK but not really contenders. But we're now quite close to being genuine contenders and that makes a massive difference to me. I am optimistic by nature (thank goodness) but Arsenal doing well - and more importantly to me, playing well - is a real boost, a breath of fresh air.
When I worked in the North East you could tell whether Newcastle United had won at the weekend by the attitude and productivity of the workforce in the shipyards. Genuinely and measurably. It had an effect that was worth more than wages - a strange phenomenon, but I promise you it was true.
When Coventry won the FA cup years ago, sq.ft office prices in the city went up significantly. Weird but true.
It's strange, but football is probably unique in being able to deliver this optimism on a weekly basis - and of course the reverse is also true if the local team loses. A successful football team puts places on the map.
Nottingham Forest, by winning the European Cup, did more for that city's world standing and reputation than any amount of work that the local inward investment company could dream of doing.
Manchester is not the UK's second city - obviously Birmingham is - but on a world scale? Manchester is world-renowned because of its fantastic football teams and their heritage and achievements. And Liverpool, perhaps more than any other city, has a reputational benefit that far outstrips (sadly) the reality of the place because of the football team.
Barcelona was a crap port, a declining city, before they got the Olympics and the values of their football team has sustained their uplift. Not just winning but winning with style. It has a clear effect on the reputation and attraction of the place.
London is not quite like that. It doesn't really need that level of uplift (where other places clearly do or would like to have it) but nonetheless the success of Chelsea and Spurs and Arsenal has a contribution to make. Rome clearly doesn't either, but the success or otherwise of Roma or Lazio make a contribution to their standing in the modern world.
Anyway I meandered, sorry. My local team is 'Northampton Town Nil'. Go figure.
But this is a personal blog. Will Arsenal win the league? It's possible but I doubt it. The mega-bucks of Chel$ki and Citeh probably put that out of reach realistically, but we're not far off. And we're a real 'club' I think, in the true sense of the term. It makes one wonder whether it's possible in these days of unlimited oil money for real clubs to compete.
And whether we have (or will) abandon the traditional club mentality for sponsorship and major backers like Usmanov Whether we will end up with 22 multi-millionaires kicking a pigs bladder around a field watched by a couple of billionaires?
All I know right now is that what we're doing is good, feels good and above all is entertaining. Most Arsenal fans would sell their souls for a trophy: a succession of boring 1-0 wins and a title. That is very tempting. But not for me. I need it to happen with style, with verve, with gut-wrenching tension. That way comes real value. In my opinion. Up the Arse.
Thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment