Arsenal's 2006-2007 Season

Okay, I have calmed down enough to not leave stupidiy and emotions. Our season ended for all intents and purposes last Wednesday @ home against PSV. As has been pointed out repeatedly, in 11 days our callow but precocious players morphed from heroes to zeroes as we crashed out of three cup title chases.

I was disappointed but hardly surprised. Come on, we had shitty, shitty start to the season; the only thing that has been consistent about our quality has been its inconsistency. We have drawn or lost too many games our quality should guarantee us 3 points. Even in the Champions League we were inconsistent: We beat Hamburg away (0-2), beat Porto @ home (2-0), lost to CSKA Moskva away (1-0)then drew to the latter @ home(0-0); romped Hamburg @ home (3-1), drew against Porto (0-0) away. Wow, seems amazing we won 2-0 against Porto. Hamburg don't count; Porto thrashed them 4-1.

Second, the injuries haven't helped either.

Third, and this is probably unpopular, it was unrealistic to think we could win titles with mostly youngsters just breaking into the team. Yes, these youngsters are good, but. I think/hope Arsene Wenger was thinking future titles here.

Fourth, I worried that Cesc was asked to play too often and was likely to tire. You could say the same for all the youngsters as the fixture congestion peaked. But Cesc deserves special mention, he has played a lot of games too soon for a young man. I don't know that he is burnt out; I am just saying.

For me the season is over it's going to be really hard to care. I mean I want us to qualify for a CL spot but, other than eeeh. Well that's what I thought after the uplifting aftermath of the sorry 11 days.

But here's the thing that hit me today: football as entertainment. The Guradian's Fiver wonders if 8/10 fans will be watching football in 10 years. This following the survey-inspired proposal to abolish draws and replace them with penalty shootouts in the Championship. The argument is, fans like shootouts.
(I don't really want to get into this, I haven't decided what I make of the idea.)

Arsene Wenger is very committed to football as entertainment. Sometimes his commitment appears foolhardy when it does not yield victories and trophies. As an Arse fan, it can be frustrating. But. I'd rather watch Arsenal brand football than the dross served out by Chelsea and Man City yesterday. Chelsea won but, "what crap!"
So, while I am not going to fuss too much about our results (I fully expect we'll keep 3rd/make 4th spot), I AM going keep watching Arsenal not becuase I support the team but because they provide excellent, excellent entertainment.

Voting with my attention and my dollar