And totaly agree with you about the announcers, it’s horrible to listen to! I just turned the sound down a bit… it’s something I actually getting used to, all that slating of Arsenal from the media. (Have you checked out the media coverage of Gallas the assaulter vs Rio the boxer?)

I though Sol showed himself well, better than others out there. I know Walcott was rusty, but he looked bad.

I have to comment on Stoke though. I agree Delap’s time wasting drying of the soccer ball is a joke. And yes, they play a lot of long ball. But I actually had a positive feeling about them after the game. They really are an honest, hard working team. I did some tough tackles, but not the achilles busting play you saw. I have seen far worse. I never at one point thought, ‘wow, that guy really deserved a yellow card there’. And they did show moments of good football. Ethrington, to me, looked like he had some good quality, and was perhaps the best player on the pitch for the match. And Fuller, even minus the headers, showed some good flair. Tuncay looked good in his cameo. They may be anti-Arsenal in their play at this point in their development, but they seem to have a bit more quality when they surpised last season. That’s a hard working team they have put together.

“Hello Tim & Fourstar. You will have to forgive me if my comment tonight (sorry it is night here in London) seem a bit out of sorts. I have (with the help of some friends) been celebrating the demise of Cameroon in the ACN. We are not unmindful of the pain Cameroon must feel for going out. We are just so glad that Song Billong will be back for, at least 2, or maybe 3 of our difficult 4 game period. So, I am unusually for a monday night, a bit drunk.

Now both you and fourstar have got your (provabial) fingers on the pulse of the whole FA cup exit to stoke scenario. I feel that to attempt to re-explain the whole reasoning will be like repeating, albeit in a different expression, what you have both stated up there. I whole heartedly concur with your postulates and detail reasoning in your comments of 12:02 pm, 1:16 pm,12:43 pm and 1:25 pm. Thank you! Thank you!! And thank you so much for such a clear & logical perspective. God bless The Arsenal Football Club.”

Now both you and fourstar have got your (provabial) fingers on the pulse of the whole FA cup exit to stoke scenario. I feel that to attempt to re-explain the whole reasoning will be like repeating, albeit in a different expression, what you have both stated up there. I whole heartedly concur with your postulates and detail reasoning in your comments of 12:02 pm, 1:16 pm,12:43 pm and 1:25 pm. Thank you! Thank you!! And thank you so much for such a clear & logical perspective. God bless The Arsenal Football Club.

I wish I could say I grew up in Highbury and was an Arsenal supporter in the womb, but I took them up in ’02, sheerly out of my fascination with Henry and his playing style. Ultimately I grew to love the players, the manager, the style of play, and respect the tradition, the supporters, the story, what the club represents. But without really thinking about it much, the club support gives you part of your identity, gives you escape, gives you entertainment, gives you a tie to a past, gives you a tie to a future, gives you an entity through which you can hope to see the achieving of greatness and beauty in one of the most artful games on earth. It both makes a lot of sense and no sense, but compared to the world and the way it seems to be going, that’s saying a lot in football’s favor.

Trophies have to be won; if we don’t have the right mix of talent, youth, experience, balls, nous, facilities, grit, balls, intelligence, cheek, leadership, fire, skill and (possibly most importantly) luck, we won’t win them. End of.

I, for one, am sticking by AW as I believe in his ‘project’ – for of course that is what it is. A long-term, book-balancing, club-steadying, youth-projecting, talent-enhancing project. If the fans don’t like it, they can vote with their feet. There are plenty of others more than willing to take their place in the 60,038 at The Emirates every (other) week. Me included.

So, that’s another factor.

But your question is a biggie: what’s the point of any football club? Is it for me? Is it for money? For glory of “the club?” The manager? To train players to get into the English National team?

It seems to me like it’s just like any club, it’s for the collective enjoyment of the members. Which then begs the question: what kind of people are in our club? Who are we? Do we want them in our club? Do we want to be in the club with them?

Personally, I take a very long view of the club and feel like we’re getting great value for our money, especially if you consider the candyland view of clubs like Chelsea and Manciti. But I also recognize that there’s a huge element of the club who, like me, have only been following football for a few years and, unlike me, they are impatient.

It’s popular to mythologize the people who are “true supporters” from the people who are “fake fans” but the truth is that identity is malleable. Pompey John is certainly the exception, he will be Pompey ’till he dies, but for the rest of us, even people born at the gates of Highbury, there’s always something the club or the world could do to turn us off of Arsenal.

I just find it sad when that thing is something small like “Arsenal haven’t won anything in 5 years.” Those folks would have a different perspective if they had been raised in a different era no doubt and might be more willing to support the club through what will surely be seen as a time of triumph (despite any trophies) in an era of financial doping.