Hypocritical Arsenal - Pundits
Good article in the chronicle about the hypocrisy of pundits towards expectations. They are lining up to agree with the fans who say Wenger out and the former players etc. Saying fair enough.
Yet if we do that our expectations are to high etc.
I've not really done it justice here XD but it's worth a read i think:
Newcastle United fans have often been on the end of some unfair and stinging criticism from certain pundits for either demanding “too much” or “having unrealistic expectations” in years gone by.
A lot of those reactions down the years have been either misunderstood with some of it coming from ill-informed pundits who aren’t seen in the Press room or in the stands at St James’Park .
In recent years, even former United players such as Kieron Dyer and Craig Bellamy, not seen at the club since they hung up their Toon shirts well over a decade ago, have been guilty of pontificating about the situation on Tyneside.
Dyer once said: “Being there I think they expect to be up there. I’m not saying winning the league but I think the fans think they’re a Champions League team. I honestly believe that.
“They were spoiled with Kevin Keegan.”
Bellamy also weighed in with: “It’s always the same up there. It always will be the same there. I remember Sir Bobby Robson, he did a great job up there.
“They were shouting from the rooftops to get him out.”
Amidst the aftermath of Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat to one of the world’s footballing superpowers Manchester City, Bellamy was supporting the strange case for Thierry Henry to replace Arsene Wenger.
Bellamy’s double standards with expectations for Arsenal are up there with a lot of football observers who don’t see it unreasonable for Wenger to be marched out of the front door at the Emirates Stadium after 10 major trophies in the last 21 years.
You can throw in European finals, top four finishes, Community Shield wins and other final appearances during that sequence as well and while Wenger’s recent record is supposedly less impressive (just three FA Cup wins in the last four years), the Frenchman has maintained a dignified approach to the job despite competing with moneybags Man City and Chelsea.
To those outside the Arsenal bubble, the treatment of Wenger is extremely disrespectful, and it’s safe to say there are some double standards when it comes to those who have spoken about Newcastle’s fans and are now trying to shed light on what the best solution would be for the Emirates Stadium side now.
With some of the players that Wenger helped have good careers, such as Henry and Ian Wright, now suggesting he must leave to save the club, it’s almost laughable.
Last night viewers were treated by Andy Townsend’s theory that Wenger could be moved upstairs at Arsenal as director of football in the same programme in which he suggested the club needs a complete change of tact.
A video posted on Twitter also showed one Arsenal fan screaming abuse in the face of Wenger this week.
Were Newcastle fans behaving in the same way right now, they’d be getting slaughtered for it, and the same pundits that are banging the “Wenger out” drum would be giving the world their expert opinion on how ungrateful the Geordies are.
At one stage last season, while Newcastle were top of the table, Tim Sherwood said: “We haven’t seen an ‘Ashley out” banner all season.
“They are winning football matches - that’s how fickle football fans can be. It’s the same owner.
“He’s behaving in the same manner but they are winning football matches so they’re all happy. They need to look at themselves.
“It’s the same owner they wanted out and they were protesting to get out of their football club because the team was getting beaten. Sometimes they have to look a bit deeper than that.”
Fast forward a season, and Newcastle fans still haven’t really protested about Mike Ashley, instead the last few months have been all about supporting a team and a manager in Rafa Benitez who are doing the best with the resources they have.
If Wenger does go it will be interesting to see how long Arsenal fans, and the TV pundits who have so much to say about it, are prepared to give the club to lift a trophy.
A whopping nine months have gone by without Arsenal winning some silverware this week, for Newcastle fans it’s 62 years and counting since their side last won a domestic honour - and still, they manage 50,000 home fans each game.
After Gary Neville (who made an absolute mess of the Valencia job and hasn’t been employed as manager since) tried to win social media over on Sunday with his “spineless” rant, Wenger today stated: “It looks like we lost against a team in Division Five, we lost against a team that dominates English football at the moment.
“We have to take a bit of perspective.”
Wenger is right, and the Arsenal situation certainly helps to dismiss some of the urban myths about Newcastle fans down the years.
If Benitez won ONE trophy for the Magpies there would be a statue being built on Tyneside, not a demand for more silverware soon after.
