Subject : The decline of a once great site
Gents,
I used to love this site. I would reference it and promote it in any conversation regarding football or journalism. I felt that the site offered a balanced and intelligent view of what was happening with Arsenal on and off the pitch. I don’t now feel the same.
I believe that whilst Myles continues to make some good points and clever observations they are unfortunately buried amongst extreme personal views that lack perspective.
Reading Myles’ comments over the last few weeks you would never believe that Arsene Wenger is one of the best managers in world football, instead you would have to draw the conclusion that he is a weak tactician that has run out of ideas and is in awe of or bullied by his stars. You couldn’t conclude that Arsenal has one of the most exciting squads in Europe let alone the Premiership, that some of the best young players around are learning their trade in our youth teams.
You would never think that Arsenal have expertly blended this young precocious talent with some of the best most proven players in the world – Walcot with Henry, Toure with Gallas, Silva with Cesc all marshalled by Lehman – one of the top three keepers in the world. You would never glean from reading your “Review” that we have lost Henry and Persie and Gallas and Sendersos and Eboue and Clichy and Rosicky and Hleb to injuries or that despite this, in games against the three teams in our mini league we have more than held our own, that we will have beaten the Champions home and away. Imagine a Man Utd losing Ronaldo and Giggs and Saha and Ferdinand or Chelsea losing Drogba and Terry and Lampard… do you think they would have been so successful?
You need to regain some perspective. Yes Arsenal have been frustrating this season, have underperformed, have on occasion lacked the spirit, tenacity and ruthlessness we expect but they have also put in some wonderful performances. Arsenal have showcased some amazing talent and made some real progress. We have also been without key players, have suffered some serious bad luck and have been on the wrong end of some ridiculous decisions.
I implore you to bear these things in mind when putting together your articles, not because I need my own opinions validated but because I miss reading intelligent and articulate football comment on this site and believe that there is more than enough blinkered, extreme, unintelligent opinion on the web without you adding to it !
Julian Jackson