The European Super Cup is a friendly.
As is the Charity Shield. As is the Club World Cup. But that does not mean we can all have a good laugh at Tottenham this morning.
Had Spurs won last night, their fans would have been unbearable. They would have anointed themselves as the best team in Europe (17th best in England). They would have been signing “Champions of Europe” everywhere they went – lads, it was funny when West Ham did it ironically. It is just embarrassing for any other club to do it unless they have wont he Champions League.
To bring last nights game into perspective, it was PSG’s first pre-season match of the season. Their last game of 2024/25 only happened a month to the day of yesterday’s match – that post-season friendly final against Chelsea.
Four weeks off and they were back in action, using the Super Cup as warm up game as part of their preparation for the new season.
Meanwhile, Tottenham prepared like it was the Champions League final. They had designed their pre-season around the Super Cup and were desperate to win it. So it his hilarious that they lost.
And the way they lost – leading 2-nil into the 85th minute – was all a bit Spursy.
Arsenal have recently been labelled “bottlers” and “the team players go to retire from trophy”. It really is poor banter to label the 3rd most successful team in English history as either of these.
One Europa League (or in Newcastle’s case a League Cup, in Palace’s case an FA Cup or in West Ham’s case the Conference League) does not suddenly make you a more successful club then The Arsenal. And it is a fact that had the likes of Harry Kane, Son, Alan Shearer or Mark Noble joined the Gunners, they would have been infinitely more successful.
I am also laughing at the “Glasner wins the same in Phase One as Arteta has won in Phase Six”.
If we are including the Community Shield (which Palace fans do), then Glasner has not won more. Fans seem to forget that Arteta’s trophy haul is 1 FA Cup and 2 Community Shields.
The phase stuff becomes really boring.
Every club has “phases” they work in. Mini goals that aim to improve season upon season. But it is only Arsenal and Arteta that get mocked for it. and we are not in Phase Six. In reality it is:
Phase One: Removing the deadwood and getting back into the top 4
Phase Two: Moving from top 4 to title challengers
Phase Three: Continual improvements to maintain a title challenge
In the real world, there is nothing beyond Phase Three. There is no realistic phase where you can guarantee the league title. All you can do is continually make improvements and tweaks season on season to maintain the title challenge. And we have been in Phase Three for the last 3 seasons.
I know this will not suit the narrative of the negative nancies who like to chat rubbish for e-likes, Who lie on the internet to impress strangers. But even winning the league will not make the intellectually defective goons happy. They live a miserable, miserable existence with their only happiness when someone likes one of their posts.
We are closing in on the start of the season. It is a tough start with our first 3 away games to Man U, Liverpool and Newcastle, and a home game against Manchester City to contend with.
To bring our start into perspective, we have:
Beaten Man U twice at Old Trafford in the league since 2006
Not beaten Liverpool at Anfield since 2012
Lost 4 of our last 5 against Newcastle at St James Park
Beaten Manchester City twice in the league since 2015
I do not expect us to get off to a fast start, and that will bring out those negative nancies from under their rocks. The only positive is we get 4 of our toughest games of the season out of the way early. And we might be able to hit them cold before they begin to build rhythm and momentum.
UTA.
Keenos