LEICESTER CITY HOME GAME THREAD

[rodders999]

Anyway on to the new season.

I had a belting summer, I didn't watch a single second of any of the pre season tour or the conglomerates cup so I feel totally refreshed having had a few months off from Arsene FC.

I did tune in to the charity shield on Sunday but missed pretty much all of the first half as I was pottering around the house doing other things. I made a conscious decision at half time to get invested in Arsenal again so I sat down to watch the entire second half and we conceded after 40 seconds.....welcome back, it's like I was never away

Thought we played well after that to be fair, without creating a massive amount of chances, but enjoyed the equaliser and the penalty shenanigans immensely.

I'd like Sanchez to stay obviously, he's the one guy on the team you'd gladly pay money to watch week in week out, but I won't spiral into a state of depression if he leaves. Everyone else that's rumoured to be off......couldn't care less.

As for Leicester on Friday, think we'll win but I'm pretty sure we all know how the season is going to pan out (hint along the same lines as the last 13) so I don't think I'm going to invest as much into Arsenal this year as I've done in every other year for as far back as I can remember.

Maybe when the season starts I'll get sucked up in to it all over again, but having taken a step away over the summer and really enjoying not stressing out over a club with zero ambition of trying to be the best, maybe Arsenal won't be front and centre in my life for the first time I can ever remember.

It's good to be back

[Gunner Rob]

the one thing that I hate about the club now above all others is the constant lies and bullshit.

its why I consider myself more of a "casual fan" now rather than a match going supporter. it all just feels a bit pointless.
if Sanchez wanted to be here then he would have signed a new contract by now.

I would have more respect for the club if they just came out and admitted that they can't match his ambition and so they will be letting him go.
instead they keep up this pretence of trying to compete, which fools enough of the fanbase into buying tickets at inflated prices.

[DB10GOONER]

tbh I'm getting the buzz again. It's the same every year, I get that buzz for the week or two before the season starts because I've missed it during the summer. It usually wears off and leaves me in a pit of despondency with a horrible sense of Déjà vu by about October.

[NickF]

Feeling absolutely nothing at the moment. Last year really did it for me standing in the bowl April/May was like being in a morgue.
Generally the atmosphere north lower is ok, no worse than most of the other big sides, but it was absolutely dead towards the end of last season.

I put in so much energy last year to try and get rid of Wenger and he still here, so we basically know how the season will go before a ball is kicked. To those that can still get the enthusiasm and optimism, have a great season!

[General]

Hasn't the standard in this forum gone down the pits.

What? People have been posting shit on here since day one!

BOOM! I'm here all week!

I haven't been here from day 1. I was attracted to this place from another forum because of the campaign to get rid of the fraud and I'm sure so are other new members. I'm sure the media check this place now because of the exposure the campaign gained. I'm all for a bit of laugh but if you have to think about the message you're sending out if you're allowing people to post this childish nonsense.

[General]

Feeling absolutely nothing at the moment. Last year really did it for me standing in the bowl April/May was like being in a morgue.
Generally the atmosphere north lower is ok, no worse than most of the other big sides, but it was absolutely dead towards the end of last season.

I put in so much energy last year to try and get rid of Wenger and he still here, so we basically know how the season will go before a ball is kicked. To those that can still get the enthusiasm and optimism, have a great season!

Yup. I guess for those who never go or stopped going to games a while back, nothing has changed for them and they can get excited about the odd game every now and then at the very least.

The fraud is as arrogant as ever and is strutting around as if nothing ever happened. *word censored* didn't even know the end of season parade.

[SPARKSY]

the one thing that I hate about the club now above all others is the constant lies and bullshit.

its why I consider myself more of a "casual fan" now rather than a match going supporter. it all just feels a bit pointless.
if Sanchez wanted to be here then he would have signed a new contract by now.

I would have more respect for the club if they just came out and admitted that they can't match his ambition and so they will be letting him go.
instead they keep up this pretence of trying to compete, which fools enough of the fanbase into buying tickets at inflated prices.

Unfortunately mate, as much as we all hate it, we are not in the elite group of teams in Europe and never really have been. Yes, we were promised more but it hasn't and won't happen i don't think. We are a big English team and will always be at the top table here but not in Europe.
This hasn't been any different in all the years i have been following the club, and only one CL final says it all.
We need to realise this and bring expectation levels down a notch or two. That way we may all enjoy it a lot more.
If we can challenge in all the 3 home competitions that is our level.
Some may not like it but i think i'm not far off.

[SPARKSY]

tbh I'm getting the buzz again. It's the same every year, I get that buzz for the week or two before the season starts because I've missed it during the summer. It usually wears off and leaves me in a pit of despondency with a horrible sense of Déjà vu by about October.

You can bet the sole aim this year is to get back in the top 4.
A cup win will be a bonus but will not be allowed to get in the way of the top 4 place.

[NickF]

the one thing that I hate about the club now above all others is the constant lies and bullshit.

its why I consider myself more of a "casual fan" now rather than a match going supporter. it all just feels a bit pointless.
if Sanchez wanted to be here then he would have signed a new contract by now.

I would have more respect for the club if they just came out and admitted that they can't match his ambition and so they will be letting him go.
instead they keep up this pretence of trying to compete, which fools enough of the fanbase into buying tickets at inflated prices.

Unfortunately mate, as much as we all hate it, we are not in the elite group of teams in Europe and never really have been. Yes, we were promised more but it hasn't and won't happen i don't think. We are a big English team and will always be at the top table here but not in Europe.
This hasn't been any different in all the years i have been following the club, and only one CL final says it all.
We need to realise this and bring expectation levels down a notch or two. That way we may all enjoy it a lot more.
If we can challenge in all the 3 home competitions that is our level.
Some may not like it but i think i'm not far off.

We have the infrastructure and the money to compete at the highest level, yet we choose not to. We fill our squad with cheap, overpaid second rate players rather than spend a little bit extra (which we can afford) and get the real top players. We also pay one of the highest ticket prices for the privilege of seeing us get stuffed every year in the champions league. With high prices goes high expectations.

You say "If we can challenge in all the 3 home competitions that is our level" but two of those are knock out competitions where you can just get lucky with the draws (not saying we necessarily have). The other we get found out year after year after year that we are not good enough.

So far we have spent around £45m this summer, that is just a fraction of how much we are actually bringing in each season. Are we really using the resources available to us to give us the best chance of winning the top prize or are we just making the balance sheet look good?

[SPARKSY]

the one thing that I hate about the club now above all others is the constant lies and bullshit.

its why I consider myself more of a "casual fan" now rather than a match going supporter. it all just feels a bit pointless.
if Sanchez wanted to be here then he would have signed a new contract by now.

I would have more respect for the club if they just came out and admitted that they can't match his ambition and so they will be letting him go.
instead they keep up this pretence of trying to compete, which fools enough of the fanbase into buying tickets at inflated prices.

Unfortunately mate, as much as we all hate it, we are not in the elite group of teams in Europe and never really have been. Yes, we were promised more but it hasn't and won't happen i don't think. We are a big English team and will always be at the top table here but not in Europe.
This hasn't been any different in all the years i have been following the club, and only one CL final says it all.
We need to realise this and bring expectation levels down a notch or two. That way we may all enjoy it a lot more.
If we can challenge in all the 3 home competitions that is our level.
Some may not like it but i think i'm not far off.

We have the infrastructure and the money to compete at the highest level, yet we choose not to. We fill our squad with cheap, overpaid second rate players rather than spend a little bit extra (which we can afford) and get the real top players. We also pay one of the highest ticket prices for the privilege of seeing us get stuffed every year in the champions league. With high prices goes high expectations.

You say "If we can challenge in all the 3 home competitions that is our level" but two of those are knock out competitions where you can just get lucky with the draws (not saying we necessarily have). The other we get found out year after year after year that we are not good enough.

So far we have spent around £45m this summer, that is just a fraction of how much we are actually bringing in each season. Are we really using the resources available to us to give us the best chance of winning the top prize or are we just making the balance sheet look good?

I don't disagree with you at all. You are right.
What i am saying is we have never been a big European force at anytime in our history, hence only 1 Fairs Cup and 1 ECWC.
We all know we are a big English club and always will be and certainly even there we have failed in recent years, which is a disgrace.
I'm sure we could also spend more on players and we should be but matching the expenditure of the Manchester or big 2 Spanish clubs or Bayern or now PSG is never going to happen, which is probably why we will never be among that group.

[sk-gtfo]

Chelsea, City (PSG) were smaller clubs than us before the Russians and Arabs arrived, neither were especially big English clubs let alone at European level, we have an owner who chooses to use us as an investment for himself to make a profit, as such I treat him with the same disrespect he treats me (as a fan).

As others have suggested emotional detattachment is the best way to go - rainy day?, nothing else to do?, maybe I'll watch a free live stream or go to the pub, otherwise why take much more than a fleeting interest in a club that is basically just an investment in a "sports portfolio" for a greedy rich American?.

This is not the same Arsenal as it was 15+ years ago and unless we have an owner with ambition or somehow the fans can take control of the club then really what is the point investing much/any emotion, time or hard earned cash into the club?.

All I am saying is our present circumstance is not so much about the history of the club, it is more about the present day "business model" lacking any real ambition or risk taking.

[worthing_gooner]

As others have said, it's not the club itself which is the problem, it's the management team (Wenger and the board) and their unambitious business model. The club is generating enough income to show more ambition in the transfer market than it is currently showing, which under a knowledgeable and progressive manager would in theory lead to better results on the pitch. Unfortunately the current lot couldn't care less - the football club is a model to drive a certain amount of turnover and systematically increase the value of Kroenke's investment. Risk averse is the sensible option for him, at a detriment to the chances of the playing side.

This hasn't changed over the summer, despite more hot air from the club's spin machine, Gazidis, Wenger etc. It won't change going forward. This season will be exactly the same as all the other seasons, except for one thing. More people woke up to the lies last year than in any prior season, the snowball is rolling.

[postmanPat91]

Let's not forget the Victims match... the last time Wenger tried to prove we could do it without Sanchez

[Gunner Rob]

the one thing that I hate about the club now above all others is the constant lies and bullshit.

its why I consider myself more of a "casual fan" now rather than a match going supporter. it all just feels a bit pointless.
if Sanchez wanted to be here then he would have signed a new contract by now.

I would have more respect for the club if they just came out and admitted that they can't match his ambition and so they will be letting him go.
instead they keep up this pretence of trying to compete, which fools enough of the fanbase into buying tickets at inflated prices.

Unfortunately mate, as much as we all hate it, we are not in the elite group of teams in Europe and never really have been. Yes, we were promised more but it hasn't and won't happen i don't think. We are a big English team and will always be at the top table here but not in Europe.
This hasn't been any different in all the years i have been following the club, and only one CL final says it all.
We need to realise this and bring expectation levels down a notch or two. That way we may all enjoy it a lot more.
If we can challenge in all the 3 home competitions that is our level.
Some may not like it but i think i'm not far off.

I would be quite happy for us to challenge in those 3 competitions - the fact is though that we only really challenge in the FA Cup (and you could argue that is only because the other big sides are either going for the title or focusing on the latter rounds in europe)
Wenger has been here over 20 years and yet has still not won the league cup - that is quite frankly appalling.
We have also not competed now for the title in 13 years - since the 1930s the only decade in which we did not WIN the league was the 1960s.

the FA Cup aside this is already one of the least successful periods in our history and things are likely to get slowly worse.

[DB10GOONER]

Hasn't the standard in this forum gone down the pits.

What? People have been posting shit on here since day one!

BOOM! I'm here all week!

I haven't been here from day 1. I was attracted to this place from another forum because of the campaign to get rid of the fraud and I'm sure so are other new members. I'm sure the media check this place now because of the exposure the campaign gained. I'm all for a bit of laugh but if you have to think about the message you're sending out if you're allowing people to post this childish nonsense.

"Childish nonsense"? Fuuuuck - you haven't done your homework before joining have you?!

The Wenger Out campaign wasn't started by this forum, it was started by a few individuals who are members here, though the forum did support the campaign. But as we always say to new members, the forum won't change to accomodate you, it's up to you to fit in, or you probably won't enjoy your time here very much. The forum was started over 10 years ago with the idea that it would be a bit like an online combo of a pub and a terrace where Gooners could go to look at tit pics, crack stupid jokes, abuse oppo players/teams/managers and, on occasion, talk about Arsenal and football.

Most either adapt and enjoy it, or leave.

Either way, zero fucks are given.