Piers Morgan, the rent a mouth TV presenter who basks in controversy and self-promotion, is an Arsenal fan that most other fans would transfer to another team.
Brash and outspoken, critical and uncompromising, Morgan has adopted the mantle of unofficial spokesperson for ordinary supporters who don’t own a fast car and can’t spend the night in a VIP bar drinking pink champagne.
He claims to speak from the heart as a man of the people but the truth is that most fans would cross the road to get away from him. He has valid points but they are also destructive and divisive. He doesn’t have any more right than the guy in the street to voice his opinion but he should, at least, try to be slightly more positive and conduct a balanced argument.
With Morgan, it’s either black or white and there seems to be no consideration for a changing landscape and how difficult it has been for the club to adapt off the field whilst trying to compete on it.
We are all aware of Arsenal’s fall from grace, of its defensive weaknesses, it’s inability to compete in a monstrously inflated market whilst remaining financially viable. Morgan, who has a small fortune tucked away from his exploits dishing the dirt on celebrities and tapping phones during his tenure as Mirror editor, earns even more money on the small screen for being judgemental and rude.
He continues to, single-handedly, conduct the ‘Wenger Out’ choir and although I, myself have been calling for change, at least I hold Wenger in high regard for what he has done for the club in the past. Time moves on and even the most die-hard Wenger supporters know that his reign is coming to an end but they are equally nervous, as are we all, at what will follow when he goes.
Manchester United realised how big a task they faced in replacing Ferguson. It proved impossible for the following candidates as each attempted to rekindle past successes and it’s only now, with Mourinho in charge, that they may be able to compete in the future. However, the Mourinho way isn’t always pleasant to watch and can be like trying to eat a cardboard box covered in glass.
As many pundits including Morgan will tell you ‘football is about results’ but at present Mourinho has neither the results or a style of play that puts bums on seats. Ferguson had both, say what you like about the man himself but with the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and Keane, the Scot had a team which had the belly for a fight and the panache to win handsomely.
The same was true of Wenger’s early sides consisting of Bergkamp, Vieira, Pires and Petite, they occasionally lost but were they entertained in doing so. Morgan will no doubt be elated when Wenger heads through the door but he should realise, as I do, that the void may be deep, very deep indeed and that plugging it will possibly take a few appointments.
What then? Still on the fringes of the major competitions and unable to qualify for the Champions League, what would Morgan recommend next??. Change is sometimes beneficial but it can also make the situation a thousand times worse. The true fans will continue to turn up on a miserable evening to be subjected to either the dizzying heights or deplorable lows of their teams results in the finest league in the World.
Liverpool have been a sleeping giant for years and supporters will tell you how hard it is to watch your team suffer on a weekly basis and crave the success of the past. One fears that Arsenal are now in that position and it may not end anytime soon. Change is coming but be careful what you wish for because ultimately Arsenal will need to kiss a few frogs before finding their Prince.
