lsgworldl
08-31-2004, 12:50 AM
To say that Arsenal play some of "the best football ever" and are "one of the best club sides there has ever been " is surely tabloidese at its finest.
Gross exaggerations based on what exactly? Well a parochial, blinkered view based on little understanding or knowledge of history springs to this humble observers mind.
For "one of the best club sides there has ever been " Arsenals achievements have been a little thin on the ground, even in an era where Champions league monies have condensed the English championship to a state where only three teams have any realistic chance of the trophy, this eras Arsenal have failed to retain the title.
Europe? Not a sniff, the occasional outstanding result far outweighed by some stunningly inept displays.
Are Arsenal viewed with the same awe in other major footballing countries? Somehow I very much doubt it, a healthy respect no doubt but "one of the best club sides there has ever been " excuse me a minute whilst I snigger.
I dare say that their where some rabid Rangers supporters who harboured similar delusions about there own position in the pantheon of the game on completing 9 SPLs in a row, whether there were equally gullible Celtic fans lining up to join in the farce is rather more open to debate.
On a topical note this arsenal team have a long way to go before they can even hope to match Nottingham Forests place in history, yes they have beaten their undefeated run, so just the small matter of two European Cups to go!
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Ajax and Liverpool at different times in their history have legitimate claims to be "one of the best club sides there has ever been " and those claims are based on solid consistent achievements both domestically and in the wider world.
In the Bigger Picture Arsenal hardly rank as also-rans despite the current fashionable hysteria.
Again many of the same arguments hold true for the so-called “best football ever" in as much as it has brought scant reward.
The truth is Wenger has fashioned a team that exploits the wide open spaces of the English Premier League to very good effect, but at its heart its very simplistic and carries a large element of kick and rush, very high quality kick and rush granted but not exactly some revolutionary innovation. When playing opponents from countries who prize possession of the ball far more than we do The Arse tend to disappear up their own rearguard, most of their outstanding results in Europe have come about where circumstances have forced their opponents to throw their natural caution to the wind allowing Arsenal to exploit them.
What annoys me as a Spurs supporter is that an aura is being built around this Arsenal team that makes many sides beaten before they even get on the pitch.
In the past we have seen this with both Liverpool and more recently Manchester United, this psychological factor actually helped the poorest Liverpool team of their era finally achieve the domestic double that had eluded Liverpool teams of far greater talent.
Why any self respecting football fan should want to indulge in this preposterous myth making nonsense is beyond me, it doesn't make you look smart, knowledgeable, even handed and fair, nope it makes you look dumb, naive and gullible, what you might describe rather condescendingly as a Sun Reader but is in fact middle class buffoonery at its worst.
http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s150/st57797.htm?fromrss=1
Gross exaggerations based on what exactly? Well a parochial, blinkered view based on little understanding or knowledge of history springs to this humble observers mind.
For "one of the best club sides there has ever been " Arsenals achievements have been a little thin on the ground, even in an era where Champions league monies have condensed the English championship to a state where only three teams have any realistic chance of the trophy, this eras Arsenal have failed to retain the title.
Europe? Not a sniff, the occasional outstanding result far outweighed by some stunningly inept displays.
Are Arsenal viewed with the same awe in other major footballing countries? Somehow I very much doubt it, a healthy respect no doubt but "one of the best club sides there has ever been " excuse me a minute whilst I snigger.
I dare say that their where some rabid Rangers supporters who harboured similar delusions about there own position in the pantheon of the game on completing 9 SPLs in a row, whether there were equally gullible Celtic fans lining up to join in the farce is rather more open to debate.
On a topical note this arsenal team have a long way to go before they can even hope to match Nottingham Forests place in history, yes they have beaten their undefeated run, so just the small matter of two European Cups to go!
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Ajax and Liverpool at different times in their history have legitimate claims to be "one of the best club sides there has ever been " and those claims are based on solid consistent achievements both domestically and in the wider world.
In the Bigger Picture Arsenal hardly rank as also-rans despite the current fashionable hysteria.
Again many of the same arguments hold true for the so-called “best football ever" in as much as it has brought scant reward.
The truth is Wenger has fashioned a team that exploits the wide open spaces of the English Premier League to very good effect, but at its heart its very simplistic and carries a large element of kick and rush, very high quality kick and rush granted but not exactly some revolutionary innovation. When playing opponents from countries who prize possession of the ball far more than we do The Arse tend to disappear up their own rearguard, most of their outstanding results in Europe have come about where circumstances have forced their opponents to throw their natural caution to the wind allowing Arsenal to exploit them.
What annoys me as a Spurs supporter is that an aura is being built around this Arsenal team that makes many sides beaten before they even get on the pitch.
In the past we have seen this with both Liverpool and more recently Manchester United, this psychological factor actually helped the poorest Liverpool team of their era finally achieve the domestic double that had eluded Liverpool teams of far greater talent.
Why any self respecting football fan should want to indulge in this preposterous myth making nonsense is beyond me, it doesn't make you look smart, knowledgeable, even handed and fair, nope it makes you look dumb, naive and gullible, what you might describe rather condescendingly as a Sun Reader but is in fact middle class buffoonery at its worst.
http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s150/st57797.htm?fromrss=1