Layth Yousif
Firstly, as the new boss of the Gooner Fanzine, I would like to pay tribute to the outgoing editor, Kev Whitcher.
In an ever-changing world Kev’s longevity has been incredible. He’s been at the helm for two decades and been associated with our publication for thirty years and I would like to thank him personally for his hard work and dedication to the cause.
As someone who has been reading the Gooner since the early issues as a supporter and been writing for it for nearly a decade as a journalist, there is a tradition to announce the new editor with the phrase ‘big shoes to fill’.
Well, I certainly have ‘big shoes to fill’ to carry on the work of the Gooner’s founder Mike Francis, and Kev, in becoming only the third editor since inception in 1987.
Let me introduce myself
I was born a Gooner and have been watching our club since the early 1980s. I have probably been to around 90 per cent of matches home and away as a season ticket holder for more than three decades, and from the press box.
I started at Highbury in the schoolboys’ enclosure prior to the Junior Gunners section before I graduated to the North Bank (the ‘middle’ rather than the ‘topside’) before ending up on the Clock End terraces and then seats. And, like you, I live and breathe The Arsenal.
It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing at night and everything in between. I’ve missed my best friend’s wedding because I watched Arsenal in the FA Cup final instead and, like you, have made a lot more sacrifices in watching and supporting our club along the way.
I’ve been to the majority of our highs and lows since 1987 - from the Littlewoods Cup final to Wrexham to Copenhagen, Wembley and Cardiff, Sutton and the Nou Camp and everywhere in between.
In my time as a journalist I’m also fortunate enough to have interviewed four Arsenal managers, from George Graham – who, I can say is most certainly is not a ‘judas’ if you were to listen to nonsense noise from other platforms - to Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery to Mikel Arteta via Freddie Ljungberg, not to mention a large number of players past and present, with many of the results of our chats with Gunners legends appearing in our fanzine as in-depth features and Q&As over the last decade – and I fully intend to continue these interviews in print and online.
So I think it is fair to say I already understand what the Gooner Fanzine is about, and why so many of you love and cherish our publication – because I feel exactly the same way. And to our readers who fork out their hard-earned cash to keep our print version alive I can guarantee you our output and quality will remain as good as ever through our legion of excellent writers, regular columnists and by continuing many of your favourites.
Whether you’re someone who attends every game, or lives on the other side of the world, the thing that connects us all is our passion for the Gunners. I don’t care whether you’ve been to one game or a 1,000 – if you live for The Arsenal then that’s all that matters.
As I always say to those who get precious about such things, I lived and worked in Australia for a year – it didn’t make me less of a fan. I used to get up at 4am to watch games, or would stay awake all night to catch a match - as I know so many of you do around the world.
I want the Gooner to be inclusive, to be welcoming to genuine supporters who want, enjoy - and expect - excellent writing on all aspects of our club. So nothing will change in that respect. I want us to welcome diversity and embrace the differences others mock, deride or abuse through their ignorance.
Since lockdown for example, we've covered Arsenal's sterling efforts in the community, the heartwarming way the club has reached out to those affected by Covid-19, mental health issues and much, more more on top of our reporting on all aspects of the playing side of matters. We want to share good news while holding the club - and its owners to account. We all want what's best for Arsenal, and you know that when you read us you will be among friends - not those who constantly seek to castigate our club and our fanbase.
I know Kev is too modest to say it, but, in an age when print sales are declining in every area, our loyal subscribers have bucked the trend to increase our ‘paid for’ readership – something not many publications - football, sport or otherwise - anywhere on the planet can say. And so much of that is down to Kev’s unstinting efforts.
With that in mind, as someone with ‘ink in his veins’, who loves fanzines and the printed word - and who has written on Arsenal for local, regional and national newspapers in print and online - I simply can’t wait to start editing the first print issue of my tenure at the start of the 2020-21 season.
The future of our online presence
Now for the subject of our online presence.
Everywhere you look there have been cuts in quality journalism across newspapers and websites. Only last week Reach, which publishes various national print titles, announced plans to cut 600 jobs. While Archant – the publisher which owns the Islington Gazette newspaper where I was the Arsenal reporter for a long time – is seeking new investors after a dramatic fall in advertising revenues with, I hear, another round of redundancies already confirmed.
My point is this: with such a decline in good journalism (through no fault of the journalists themselves it has to be said, more from publishing companies who are far more concerned with the bottom line than quality writing), I want to reposition the Gooner Fanzine’s online presence to be a ‘one stop shop’ where Arsenal supporters can get their ‘fix’ – from knowledgeable writers and experts who really care about the club.
For our website, (onlinegooner.com) this means we will feature everything relating to The Arsenal. From breaking team news, live match blogs, match reports, player ratings to deep, considered analysis on Mikel Arteta and his squad - all day, every day. Not to mention covering our academy sides from the U18s in the FA Youth Cup to the U21s and the U23s and Joe Montemurro’s very excellent women’s team.
Of course our regular staple of nostalgia from our club’s long and illustrious history will continue to grow online through the ever-expanding presence of our ‘REWIND” series which has proved so popular during lockdown. As will our raft of exclusive interviews with Arsenal players past and present through our extensive contacts book.
Are you a die-hard Arsenal supporter – or are you simply a ‘fan’?
Quite simply we are at a crucial juncture in terms of how Arsenal supporters – not fans, for there is a vast difference - are perceived.
For too long, telling someone you’re an Arsenal ‘fan’ brought an immediate response relating to internet caricatures, horrendously distorted from what was once an egalitarian concept.
Where inarticulate and grotesque ‘personalities’ (and their agents and algorithms detailed to hunt for manufactured controversy) heap embarrassment on our loyal fanbase through their self-serving, dumbed down bedlam – which, at times over the years, not just this week, has bordered on impropriety through the intemperate language they use. For too long they have been allowed to set the tone. We want to change that.
The Arsenal stands for history, tradition and class. And so does the Gooner Fanzine. Remembering who you are, what you are and who you represent has never been more important in an increasingly fractious world.
We believe we can share the voices of the silent majority, those supporters who value the club’s values. Who also value modesty and self-deprecation over the ‘look at me culture’ where your allotted 15 minutes of fame, sadly for some, lasts a lot longer, despite, it seems, possessing no discernable talent.
We represent those whose views are heard over a post-match pint with mates, where wit and irony mingle with knowledge, where passion is tempered with a capacity to conduct an intelligent, respectful conversation without resorting to the lowest common denominator every time.
Where more intelligent debate can be conducted through high-quality writing, both in print and online.
The Gooner Fanzine has, and will always represent a more considered voice. A more intelligent voice. A more informed voice. A more knowledgeable voice. A more irreverent voice.
The Gooner Fanzine, our labour or love – for that is exactly what it is - is lucky enough to be a credible and respected name through the hard work and dedication of so many associated with it down the years, and through our unique mix of informed and intelligent writing - and writers – on The Arsenal, and we make no apologies that we will simply never, ever dumb down, in print or online.
I will be reaching out to our superb ‘squad’ and unsung ‘backroom staff’ over the coming days and weeks to ensure our gold standard – the printed version of the Gooner – will continue to offer such superb quality for our loyal and growing number of subscribers, while ensuring our online presence grows stronger by the day.
It has been a challenging time for everyone recently, but it is our hope that, eventually, once supporters are allowed back into stadiums, those who buy our fanzine on match days outside the Emirates, and up and down the country, from our hardy band of windswept sellers, will also enjoy what they see, and that sales will rise once again through our unashamed commitment to good writing and intelligent discussion, allowing us to continue in print for a good few seasons yet.
I want the print version of the Gooner Fanzine to house a collection of the best Arsenal writers around, while keeping our old favourites. And I want our online presence to become the first place Arsenal supporters will visit for everything possible related to our wonderful club on a daily basis.
‘Big shoes to fill’? Certainly. But strap yourself in and enjoy the ride, as one thing I can guarantee is that it won’t be dull.
Cheers
Layth (@laythy29)
Gooner Fanzine editor
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