Party like it's (not) 1983

I HAD NOT been to Leicester since the old days of Filbert Street so as soon as their promotion to the Premier League had been confirmed, this was one of the first away days I had pencilled in.

2014-15 actually marks my 34th season watching the Gooners and my, how things have changed. Back in 1981 football was a very different animal. Hooliganism was at its peak, grounds were in various states of disrepair and you never knew with any certainty if you would make it home from an away day in one piece.

But while many aspects of the modern football experience are so much better, it has been somewhat watered down. On the pitch the product is far slicker and it is perfect for the worldwide TV audience. Footballers are far easier on the eye for a start. Well most of them are; Leicester goalscorer Ulloa one of the obvious exceptions.

But it has lost its soul along the way. As the cries of 'Buy a f**king striker' rang out from the away end following this rather uninspiring 1-1 draw against a hard working but limited opponent, I began to realise that the biggest change has been to the people who now inhabit the stadiums. But I don't blame them. Not really. I blame modern society.

My first visit to Leicester was in 1983. The old Filbert Street ground was in a right old mess back then. The view from the away end was awful with pillars and fences everywhere, which was probably just as well as Arsenal lost 3-0. Yes we were all upset about it and I recall a few boos at the final whistle but it was no big deal.

We didn't have to suffer endless analysis on TV about where it had all gone wrong. We spend an hour or so on the train home doing that for ourselves. Yes, back in the 1980s we were allowed to think for ourselves.

'Charlie Nicholas is not doing it, is he?'

'What was up with Woodcock today?'

'Why is he playing bloody Colin Hill and David Madden.'

But by the time we had arrived back at Kings Cross the only things that mattered were McDonald's and the next match.

Luckily the game was not on MOTD that night so we could tell our mates that actually we were very unlucky and that we should have had at least three blatant penalties. I mean, they'd never know.

But in 2014 a 1-1 draw now feels like the end of the world. Even before the final whistle had blown, there were messages from all over the world saying things like, 'Wenger needs a striker,' 'Sanogo is not good enough,' and 'Arsenal are shite.' Yes, very original.

There is no hiding place now. Everyone has seen it. And even if they haven't they will have heard all about it through social media. Football is not just for the die-hard fan any more, it is for everyone.

And this has seeped into the stadiums. People who have known nothing but the Premier League, Sky TV and transfer deadlines in August expect us to win 6-0 every week. And if we don't then there is only one answer; spend some f**king money.

I left the King Power Stadium far more upset with the reaction of the Arsenal fans than the performance of the team. Yes, we were flat, and despite oodles of possession we were probably slightly fortunate to come away with a point in the end.

But listening to all the moaning going on you'd have thought we had just witnessed a repeat of the 1983 result.

Luckily that nostalgia was not lost on the Leicester fans to our left. Say what you like about the modern football fan but it is reassuring to know that the spirit of the 1980s is still alive and well in some parts of the country at least.

It took me back to one particular visit to Filbert Street back in 1984 when the Leicester faithful decided to throw bricks at us. This lot were probably their grandchildren and instead of bricks it was just banter and bravado being thrown this time. Still, at least it provided a nice distraction from the impending transfer deadline day and our inadequacies up front.

So a rather unsatisfactory away day in the end. It makes you wonder why you bother at all. But that flame, burning so bright back in 1983, just refuses to go out. A quick glance at the fixture list told me that Sunderland away in October is next on my agenda. I just hope that is better than the 3-0 defeat we suffered there in 1982. Give me Sanogo over Lee Chapman any day!

Grass-Roots Vs. Sky Sports - 'Soccer Saturday' should be spent at the ground not on your sofa.

YOU WATCH Gillette Soccer Saturday with the 'wonderful' Jeff Stelling, right? So you must be a football fan, right? Wrong. 

Real football fans do not spend their Saturday afternoon's glued to the TV listening to the inane chatter of Stelling and his motley crew. Real football fans are out watching a match, whether it be in the Premier League, Football League or, more importantly, at their local grass-roots club.

But Sky have produced a generation who rather like the idea of football just as long as it is beamed directly into their sitting rooms and they do not actually have to leave the house. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Armchair Fan...

So while the Premier League is thriving with billions invested in fancy new foreign players each year, earning the equivalent in one week that would keep a local club afloat for 10 years, grass-roots football is dying a slow and painful death.

Yet for the price of a Sky Sports subscription you could watch your local club six times a month and still have change for a pint and a bag of chips on the way home. So why are you all not doing that instead?

I recently had the misfortune of not being able to attend a match on a Saturday afternoon so I decided to turn on Sky Sports News (I get that channel free with my TV package) to watch the much heralded Stelling and co. And what an experience it was. I love a good bit of analysis and I have always been a sucker for an interesting stat or two but this lot took it to a new level.

Six hours it was on. Six hours!! Typical Sky overkill. And from 3 o'clock all you could hear were the constant screams in the background of Phil Thompson or Paul Merson. 'Oooh,' 'Arrh' they yelled like Wayne Rooney in an old people's home, while all we got to see was a blurry graphic of the crowd or Stelling's ugly mug.

It got me thinking; this programme is not made for football fans at all. It is made purely for the TV generation and gambling addicts. The same people that watch this nonsense will no doubt be watching X Factor and Big Brother afterwards. They probably never even leave their sofas at all on a Saturday.

Yet you speak to these people and they will tell you they are football fans. They will tell you how they have supported Manchester United or Liverpool all their life. 'I used to go all the time but I can't afford it now,' they will say.

Yet their local club, just two miles up the road, is crying out for their support. Sky claim to love football but you have to question that. They love people sitting indoors and watching football on TV, yes. But they do not actually love football. The crazy (peak viewing) kick off times tell you that.

But this coming Saturday is Non League Day so instead of watching the garbage that is Gillette Soccer Saturday, get yourself out and support your local club. Most are crying out for volunteers and would really appreciate your help and support. They will make you feel welcome and in return you will really feel part of the club.

I recently set up a small company with the aim of giving local, grass-roots football better coverage. At Butler Sports TV we film matches and produce highlights. We interview the players and managers. We make them feel as though they are on Sky. They love it and it makes them feel special.

Yet many of these clubs cannot afford our services. They can barely afford to clean the kit each week. So while Sky bore us with 15 hours of coverage from a drab 0-0 draw at Chelsea, the rest of us are missing out on the thrills and spills of a 6-6 draw at South Shields.

Come on, as a football fan what would you rather watch?

Welbeck and the missing defenders - The madness of Arsenal's transfer window

WELL that was a great transfer window for Arsenal wasn't it. 

In came one of the stars of the World Cup; Chilean international forward Alexis Sanchez. French right back Mathieu Debuchy replaced the outgoing Bacary Sagna, exciting young defender Callum Chambers arrived from Southampton and finally on Deadline Day itself, Danny Welbeck. Yes you heard that right. Danny. Welbeck.

Following the disappointing 1-1 draw at Leicester on Sunday, the visiting fans were shouting at Arsene Wenger to 'buy a f**king striker' and he certainly didn't disappoint.

So while front men like Falcao, Balotelli, Costa, Suarez and Negredo were all changing clubs this summer, Arsenal swooped for the prolific Welbeck; the former Manchester United 'striker' who scored just two goals in 40 appearances in the 2012-13 season. Yes, two goals in 40 appearances.

Of course under the guidance of Wenger, the 23-year old with just 39 club goals in 178 appearances, could blossom into the new Thierry Henry. But even if he does, it does not hide the fact that Arsenal are going into the season with just two recognised centre backs and no real quality in the crucial defensive midfield position.

And after spending the last two weeks insisting that Arsenal did not need to buy a striker, Wenger buckled to pressure and brought in the out-of-favour Manchester United man for £16m despite a genuine need to strengthen elsewhere.

Of course had the travelling fans at Leicester been shouting for a new defender or holding midfielder, perhaps they would have woken up this morning with something to really get excited about.

But instead there is just doubt. What if Metersaker and Koscielny are both injured? What if Gibbs is also on the treatment table, as he so often appears to be? Debuchy likes a card or two so lets say he is suspended. What if all this happens in the week of a visit to Manchester City or Liverpool. Who plays in the back four then? Welbeck? Steve Bould? Wenger himself?

A plethora of midfielders and strikers but not enough defenders. Incredibly short-sighted for a club who claim to be title challengers.

The frustrating thing for Arsenal fans is that they are probably just three players short of winning the title. Two centre backs and a strong, holding midfielder. If they had arrived yesterday instead of Welbeck there would have been a real feeling that this could be Arsenal's year.

But maybe we are all under-estimating Wenger. He has brought in new fitness coach Shad Forsythe this summer and perhaps this will mean the injury problems that have plagued the club for the last 10 years or so will be finally over.

You have to say that without serious injury to the first XI, Arsenal does have a team to challenge for the title. The bench also looks strong in attacking areas with players like Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski, Campbell and Rosicky. Maybe Wenger is going for the old adage; you score three, we will score four. You have got to admire his philosophy at least. Rather that then Mourinho's park-the-bus attitude.

So perhaps come May we will all be proved wrong. Perhaps Welbeck will score the goals that win the title and Wenger will be hailed as a genius. Perhaps.

There is a banner at the Emirates that reads, 'Wenger Knows' and maybe, just maybe he does. But after the events of yesterday, I am not so sure any more.