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Showing posts with label Arsenal FC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arsenal FC. Show all posts
Dr John Coulter ⚽ By the time you read this, I’ll have finally calmed down after one of the most roller coaster soccer seasons of my life - and the World Cup is still to come later this month!


I’m, of course, referring to the journey my beloved Arsenal have taken in the 25/26 season which took us to our first Premier League title for 22 years, as well as defeat to arch title rivals Manchester City in the League Cup final, and a shock defeat to some wee French team in the weekend’s Champions League final in Budapest.

My beloved Gunners have played some 60-plus first team matches this season and I’ll happily describe each one as ‘a squeaky bum’ sensation. Folk regularly ask me what’s it like to support Arsenal given the fact that we’ve ‘bottled’ the Premier League three seasons in a row before the tearful formal lifting of the trophy after the final game of the season at Crystal Palace?

It’s brutally simple - every Arsenal game is like taking the train from Belfast to Dublin, while suffering from severe diahorrea, but finding all the toilets on the train are out of order! It’s that painful.

Then again, why did I begin supporting Arsenal as a primary school pupil when my late dad, Rev Dr Robert Coulter MBE, to whom I was exceptionally close as a son, was a life-long Liverpool fan?

In the Sixties, the two favourite teams among the pupils at the local village primary school in the north Antrim hills were Leeds United and Manchester City. There was one Man United fan, one Chelsea fan - and me as the lone Gunner!

The daily newspaper in Clough Presbyterian Manse in those days was the Belfast News Letter. From time to time, I’d read the sports pages. By the time I was preparing to sit my Eleven Plus exam, I’d progressed comic-wise from The Topper and The Victor, to Shoot, a weekly football magazine.

Arsenal had reached the final of the old European Fairs Cup in the 69/70 season. Until that final, I’d only said I was a Gunner at primary school just to be different from my chums as I was the sole preacher’s kid in the entire building.

Arsenal had been beaten 3-1 in the first leg of the final by the crack Belgian side, Anderlecht, and it would take a massive effort by the Gunners to overhaul the deficit in the second leg. They did, beating the Belgians 3-0 at Highbury. My decision was made. I would become a committed Gunner for the rest of my life.

The following season was another roller coaster ride in my Arsenal journey. It coincided with me leaving Clough Primary School to spend my Primary Seven year at the Ballymena Academy Preparatory Department. 1970/71 saw Arsenal complete their first double - the league and FA Cup.

We beat Liverpool 2-1 in that historic final, and after the game, I’d pretend I was a great Charlie George outside the Presbyterian Manse kicking my football against the Manse front gate scoring that winning goal over and over repeatedly.

One thing has sky rocketed since those prep school days - the price of football kits. In 1970, I bought my first ever Arsenal strip; the jersey with the badge, shorts and socks all came to five pounds! When family asked me what I wanted for my birthday or Christmas, the answer was always the same - the latest Gunners strip!

Needless to say, my collection has grown since 1970. It now fills an entire wardrobe section of my home. As a married man with two sons, I can now add Father’s Day to the constant moan of me asking for the latest Arsenal ‘footie top’. Nowadays, the price has jumped to around £100 plus per shirt. And it’s no longer ‘home and away’ jerseys - most major clubs now have a third shirt.

My eldest son is also an Arsenal fan, so a visit - much to the disapproval of my Man United supporting darling wife - to the Arsenal shop at The Emirates in London to buy all the tee-shirts and strips associated with being Premier League champions and runners-up in the Champions League will ‘bust the budget’!

Being a Presbyterian minister’s son and an avid Arsenal fan has got me a few tickings off in my time. I was reduced to tears in 1972 when Leeds beat us 1-0 in the FA Cup final. I was told by dad not to make any cheeky remarks to my Leeds chums at Sunday school the following day.

I got the same fatherly warning in 1973, when lowly Sunderland beat Leeds 1-0 in the 1973 final and was sternly warned not to taunt the Leeds fans at Sunday school in retaliation for the banter I’d received the previous year.

Away from work, my casual dress code involves wearing one of the dozens of Arsenal shirts I now possess in my collection. In my spiritual journey, I’ve witnessed a radical relaxing of the dress codes over the years to Sunday worship and especially the mid-week Bible study and prayer meetings.

This has brought me into conflict on occasions with the wives of some of the elders. In one place of worship, at a ‘mid-week’ as they are affectionately called, I was wearing my Arsenal top. Two members of session were also present - one in a Spurs top; the other in a Chelsea shirt.

Another elder’s wife decided she’d had enough of these sporting tops at the ‘mid week’ and vented her spleen on me only! She didn’t say anything to the two elders - just me as the preacher’s kid. Since then, she has become known as ‘Mrs Footie Top’.

On another occasion during a church holiday to York in England, I was dandering through that historic city proudly sporting my Arsenal shirt when I became conscious that I was being glared and stared at.

By sheer chance, I met another Arsenal fan wearing his top, who said to me - ‘they don’t like us Londoners up here!’ To avoid any conflict, I went into the nearest sports shop and bought a local football shirt!

The same happened again a few years ago at a train station in Lisbon in Portugal during a family holiday when I was confronted by Sporting Lisbon fans. We exchanged a few insults across the platforms, but thankfully no punches!

I will admit the tears were flowing when the team lifted the Premier League trophy this season, especially as we came so, so close to ‘bottling’ it again for a fourth season in succession. Finishing runner-up in the Premier League when we had led the league for so long during the season is bitter medicine for any fan to swallow.

Even as a pensioner in my 60s, the experience of being a Gunner can be an emotionally challenging one. I’ll leave my rant on the penalty decisions in the Champions League final against that Paris lot for another day.

Just a reminder - its Father’s Day again in a few weeks; you know what I want as a pressie! Size XL please.
 
Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter
John is a Director for Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. 

Grimaces And Glory ⚽ The Life Of A Gunners Fan!

Peter Anderson ⚽ Gary Neville called Sunday's big match "the start of the title race."

And it certainly felt like it. Liverpool travelled to Arsenal knowing that a win would see them 8 points clear of the Gunners. This would effectively reduce the title race to a two-horsed variety, as only City could challenge Liverpool.

It was a must-win for Arsenal and they got the three points reasonably comfortably following a shit show from Liverpool's captain. Last season, Virgil Van Dijk had a poor campaign by his standards, but so far this one he has been back to his outstanding best. But that all changed on Sunday as he was at fault for all three of Arsenal's goals.

He was caught out of position for the first, failed to deal with a long ball for the second and, most bizarrely, he failed to close down and block the shot for the third. With Salah and Szoboszlai injured, a poor match from their iconic captain was not what the doctor ordered.

It was always going to be a battle for midfield domination and Arsenal won that one easily. Jones, MacAllister and Gravenberch were no match for Odegaard, Big Deccy and the excellent Jorginho.

While Arsenal were the better team and deserved the three points, Klopp will not panic. He has been here before with Dortmund and Liverpool. This was only their second league defeat of the campaign.

They are still top of the league and their next three league games are against Burnley, Brentford and Forest. An ideal run to get the juggernaut back on the road. The crucial period could be the middle of March. City travel to Liverpool and then host Arsenal 2 weeks later.

After the City game, Liverpool go to Goodison. Twists and turns await.

As for Arsenal, the doubts still remain. They aren't playing as well as last season and the lack of a 20 goal striker is a major cause for concern. The way they bottled last season's title charge is fresh in the memory and I think they are the least likely of the three to take the title.

Arguably, the biggest winners on Sunday were City. If City win their two games in hand, they will be top of the league. The big question is whether or not they can go on yet another end-of-season winning streak like they have done on so many previous seasons. With Klopp leaving at the end of the season and City facing possible relegation next season for "crimes" against the footballing establishment, both sets of players are facing an "end of an era" scenario. 

So, which set of players possess the most motivation? Will Liverpool falter, or will City suffer from "win fatigue" given last season's heroics? It is going to be fascinating, no doubt. And I am glad that, for now, Arsenal are still in the reckoning.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Virgil Van Dick

Peter Anderson ⚽ Oh oh. We feared an Arsenal collapse and just now they are wobbling. 

They were winning 0-2 at Anfield and cruising and ended up barely hanging on for a point, and amazingly they repeated the exact same experience against West Ham on Sunday. 2 points from a possible 6. Two 0-2 leads thrown away. They were always going to have a wobble, now they are having one. Will they get out of it, or will the wheels come right off, like last season's push for the Champions League?

Next Friday they host Southampton at the Emirates, which affords them the best possible chance to rescue this wobble. Victory over the bottom club will put them 7 points clear of City as City play the FA cup semi against Sheff U. That would mean they go into the game at the Etihad next Wednesday in the best possible position. I have no doubt they will beat Southampton but I do think that the manner of the victory will be important. In the West Ham game they started doing things that we haven't seen all season: easy passes going astray, panic in the back line, midfielders losing composure, and two quiet games in a row for young Saka. There is no doubt they miss Saliba, Holding is a liability, and they missed Zinchenko against the Hammers. Zinchenko should be fit for the Friday but Saliba is still a doubt for the City game. They need to beat the Saints emphatically and regain the confidence that got them to the top of the pile and kept them there. Then they can think about City.

Talking of City. The look imperious. Pep was talking at his presser about how much he loves the run in; games every 4 days in different competitions. The team seems to get on a roll, and we have seen in previous run-ins that when they are on a roll they rarely drop points. Against Munich last Tuesday, City looked vulnerable to the counter-attack. The teams that do well against City, especially Liverpool, have extremely quick counter-attacks and I feared for us against Munich, but Rodri curled in a lovely opener. And after the break City turned the screw and came away from a difficult game with a 3-0 lead to take to Germany. They play Munich on Wednesday, Sheff U on Saturday and the Arsenal next Wednesday. If they win all three then the treble will be on. 

For Arsenal, they have no cup commitments which means a full week between games. Yet against West Ham they looked leggy in the final 20 minutes. Maybe they have too long to ruminate over the run-in whereas City just go game-to-game competition-to-competition, maintaining rhythm. Arsenal will have to dig deep and find a way to stop the City juggernaut

The City v Arsenal game has 'title decider' written all over it and personally I can't wait.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Wobbles

Life-long Arsenal supporter and journalist, Dr John Coulter ⚽ takes a break from the Ulster political crisis to reflect on the sporting challenges facing a football club he has supported since 1969.

Just as the rough and tumble of Northern Irish politics has produced unbelievable weeks of amazing twists and turns, so the 2020/2021 English Premiership season threw up a challenge which I faced for the first time since I began supporting my beloved Gunners in 1969 as a primary school kid - I couldn’t stand watching them!

Maybe its the fact I’m approaching my 62nd birthday, God Willing, and can’t cope with the stress of yelling at the television, or jumping up and down out of my ‘TV chair’ during matches.

Even in the dark days of the mid-Seventies when Arsenal slipped down the old First Division table after completing the historic FA Cup and First Division ‘Double’ in 1971, which had followed European silverware the previous year in the form of the old European Fairs Cup, I still faithfully watched them on the Saturday evening BBC’s Match of the Day on an old black and white TV in Clough Presbyterian Manse, in the north Antrim hills.

In the 1974/75 season, we finished 16th in the First Division, narrowly avoiding relegation in the following season by finishing 17th, before climbing up to a more respectable 8th in the 1976/77 season - ironically, the same position we ended up in the Premiership in 2020/21.

For the meantime, gone is the glory era under Wenger when a top-four Premiership finish was taken as guaranteed, along with Champions League qualification - and finishing above our closest North London rivals, Spurs.

As we prepare for the 2021/2022 season, it will be the first time in around a quarter of a century that there will be no European football at my beloved Gunners.

There’s even butterflies already when it was announced our opening game in the new season will be against newly-promoted Brentford - a real potential banana skin game! Losing that match to Brentford is akin to the time lowly Wrexham knocked us out of the FA Cup, and especially I’ve never got over 1973 when Second Division Sunderland dumped us out of the FA Cup semi-final!

That also ranks with the previous season’s FA Cup final defeat to Leeds United when tears flowed from the cheeks of that 12-year-old John Coulter, who was subsequently told by his dad, the local Presbyterian minister, not to start any trouble with the Leeds fans in the Sunday school the following morning!

The Gunners have been a huge part of my life since primary school days. Indeed, before becoming a born again Christian in 1972, I would quite openly have defined my religion as ‘Arsenal’, not ‘Presbyterianism’!

My collection of Arsenal football shirts dating back to the 1970s fills up an entire section in my wardrobe. I bought my first Arsenal kit from Highbury in 1970 - a fiver got the shirt, shorts and socks then! And for the recent Father’s Day I got as my ‘surprise present’, yes, you’ve guessed it - the new Arsenal away jersey.

I’ve embarrassed myself in front of clergy and fellow Christians that I’ve invited around to my home to watch games involving Arsenal by, in the heat of the moment, forgetting my Christian faith and Christian visitors and suddenly screaming the most foul abuse at the TV, only to turn and see the shocked expressions on the faces of my guests!

Family members keep advising me - why do you keep watching Arsenal when they make you so ‘wound up’? We lost 13 Premiership games in 2020/2021 - two of them because of own-goals! My honest opinion is that 10 of those 13 defeats were avoidable - 30 valuable points flushed down the Premiership loo!

The banter with chums around my home village when they saw me out for a walk wearing an Arsenal shirt or scarf was - are you wearing that for a bet, John?

Perhaps I am hankering back too much to the era of the Invincibles, when we completed the entire Premiership season unbeaten - when a draw was shock result for the Gunners! There were many, many matches during 2020/2021 when I would have gladly settled for a point!

So what’s the solution in a sporting era of ‘spend, spend, spend’? We have the players, we have the manager, we have the backroom staff, we have the ground, we have the fans - what we need is our ‘mojo’! We need to start believing as a club that we can emulate the Invincibles.

The club needs to reinvigorate the spirit that every game in 2021/2022 is a cup final. Yes, I know we face the difficult challenges brought on by the pandemic and I’m sure the effects of lockdown and having to play games without the fans did affect the teams - they may be superstars, but they are also human.

Perhaps Arteta needs to be given a bigger spending pot to bring in new talent, or a big name to boost morale. But the Charlie Georges, George Grahams, and Frank McLintocks who won the famous ‘Double’ in 1971 were not paid mega-bucks for their talents - they all believed in the passion of the shirt.

Time is a great healer, I’m told! I will get over 2020/2021 with the eighth place finish, being dumped out of the Europa League semi-final by our previous manager, ending the season with only the Community Shield as silverware, and only finishing a squeak above Leeds United, but Spurs again finishing above us in the Premiership is the most bitter medicine of all.

The solution? Restore team pride in the Arsenal shirt. What we need as a cure for Arsenal’s woes are not highly paid players; what we require each week is for our glorious Gunners to be represented by a team of individuals who play as a unit, and view pulling on the Arsenal jersey as some of the greatest moments and privileges in their lives.

Then, and only then, will the glory days return to the Emirates - and I can stop my bad habit of pacing the floor of our living room, screaming very unChristian verbal abuse at players and a manager who cannot physically hear me!

In my humble view, passion plus pride equals performance! Then again, I’m only a fanatical fan! Bring on 2021/2022 and confine 2020/2021 to the history books. 

Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter
Listen to commentator Dr John Coulter’s programme, Call In Coulter, every Saturday morning around 10.15 am on Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. Listen online. 

When Will My Beloved Gunners Be Back Firing Again?

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