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Arthur Whittle

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Everything posted by Arthur Whittle

  1. The Champions League on a Saturday night may have been a great leap forward in securing football’s place in the light entertainment schedule, but, writes William Abbs, watching viewers from Norwich may have been wondering why Bayern Munich were using one of their songs when they scored their goals. Norwich City, one of the country’s best-supported provincial football clubs, secured promotion back to English football’s second tier at the first attempt this season. The upturn in the Canaries’ profile does not end there though. Their re-elevated league status has coincided with some of football’s bigger powers seemingly looking to the Norfolk club for style tips. From the beginning of the year Manchester United fans turned Old Trafford an increasing shade of yellow and green for each home game as part of their anti-Glazer protests. The colours might have represented the fans’ wish to assert their spiritual ownership of the club over the American family’s financial control, by harking back to United’s origins as Newton Heath, but Old Trafford’s yellow and green army still resembled a battalion of that which could be found at Carrow Road every other weekend. But, as well as United’s sartorial homage to Norwich, on Saturday night UEFA chose to greet both Inter Milan goals in the Champions League final with a blast from “Samba de Janeiro,” a track by 90s Latino dance act Bellini and the music traditionally played to celebrate a goal by the home side at Carrow Road. The sound of recorded music at football stadia is anathema to many. Gary Chadwick, a Burnley fan, wrote a blog last year on the subject for the fan site Clarets Mad. Chadwick was writing in response to the playing of the Piranhas’ song “Tom Hark” over the Turf Moor sound system after every home goal. His article began with a heartfelt statement: “I believe that music played over the PA system is limiting the creativity of our supporters, giving them less freedom to express themselves.” On Saturday evening, the web threw up another dissenting voice. Moments after the game in Madrid restarted following Diego Milito’s first goal, the satirical news web site the Gaffer tweeted the opinion that “Music after goals in neutral venues really needs to die.” The directness of the Gaffer’s declaration was all the more striking for having emanated from a source that primarily deals in irony. Given that its spontaneous sentiments echoed those of Chadwick’s blog, and assuming that the writer of the tweet was neither sending it from inside the Bernabéu nor writing it as a fan of Inter, then the implication is that a hatred of goal music unites fans in the ground with those watching on television, and that an antipathy towards overbearing PA systems is not necessarily the consequence of an allegiance to the club whose goal celebrations are being interrupted. In short, I suspect that the Gaffer was speaking on behalf of most football fans. There might be a place for recorded music at football grounds before the game begins, during the interval, or at full-time, but in the aftermath of a goal there is simply no need for it. After Milito beat Hans-Jörg Butt in the Bayern goal on thirty-five minutes, having feinted to shoot brilliantly before dinking the ball over the goalkeeper when he committed to his dive, the Inter fans at the other end of the stadium predictably erupted. They knew that a first European Cup since 1965 was within their club’s grasp; forty-five years of expectation, hope, and disappointment was exorcised with one flick of the Argentinean player’s boot. It was an emotional moment for any football fan watching on television too, knowing that they were witnessing one of the sport’s great old clubs ascend to the summit of the European game once more, and hearing what it meant to the fans in the ground (well, half of them). What nobody wanted, even the Bayern supporters behind Butt’s goal I should think, was to hear a tinny rendition of a song that had probably been chosen arbitrarily by UEFA in an attempt to augment the significance of any strike in their showpiece final. “Samba de Janeiro” surely holds no significance to fans of the Nerazzurri, just as “Tom Hark” holds no unique meaning to Burnley fans (and the Piranhas were a Brighton band anyway). The Norwich City message board Wrath of the Barclay soon picked up on this latest example of the Canaries’ trendsetting ways on Saturday night. “Everyone wants to be us,” quipped ‘Jumbo1’ almost immediately, proving that residents of Norfolk pay more attention to events in the outside world than many would have it. However throwaway the message board comment was, though, it does display a certain affection that Norwich fans might have for “Samba de Janeiro.” In my experience, as a Norwich resident though not a Canaries fan, any letter to the city’s local newspaper that calls for the song to be replaced, or goal music at Carrow Road scrapped altogether, is met with as many contrary replies as those in agreement. Norwich might be one of the few places in the country, perhaps the only one, where goal music has found a home. Norwich is a city that does not take itself too seriously, being subjected to so many yokel jokes by the rest of the country. Likewise, the football club is used to being patronised as a backwater, despite boasting gates of 25,000. Having soundtracked both good times and bad in the Canaries’ recent history, the sound of “Samba de Janeiro” echoing incongruously around Carrow Road has somehow become a way for the Norfolk club to allow itself a knowing smile at the expense of the rest of the football world.
  2. If Roeder got the job it would be the most hilarious appointment of recent years..........
  3. Arthur you should have a column in the Evening News. LOL....discussions are still continuing...........we have yet to settle on a name for the column.....A Half With Arth...is one of many on the table....lol.
  4. I actually did have a mate who cited wikipedia as a reference in his first year at university. Needless to say he didn''t get a great mark..... LOL.
  5. I would personaly like us to give an ex Col U player the job, Mike Walkers out of work.........
  6. Tilson good odds at 14/1, bang some on him before he drops Thats the same as Lambert leaving us for ipswich, derby wise....Southend fans will go nuts!!! People might not think Colchester V Southend is a big derby but most of the country doesnt think the Norwich V Ipswich derby is big either.......derbys are big to those who support.....from hartlepool v Darlington, to West ham V Millwall!!!
  7. Got so many I cant put in any opreder so i will just reel them off...........Ipswich, Middlesboro, newcastle, Sunderland, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man utd, Watford, QPR, MK Dons {probably Number 1}, Palace,Wallsall, Grimsby...........sorry i cant pick which 3....MK Dons number one hate/.........
  8. There will be an event at Carrow Road on the last Sunday in July or the first Sunday in August. I thoght they said they were not having one Tilly???
  9. Has altered wikipedia. I was looking at the Norwich City entry and apparently Marlon Harewood is now a Norwich player..... YOU!!!
  10. Nigel Worthington was after Baptiste i''m sure of it That does sound very familuar.......
  11. but Gilks will no way make it in the prem To be honest, I didnt think he was good enough for League One, let alone the championship when we signed him.....however, I havent watched blackpool week in week out, but he must be doing something right......perhaps be a bit a Bo jenson of Burnley in the prem....hit and miss......
  12. Arthur, I know Leeds used to be good, but were they really CHapmions of Europe? No they never won it. They lost the final, but think they were cheated, and one of their songs is "Champions, champions, champions of europe", they also have a forum called waccoe, standing for, we are champions, chapions of europe......hope that explains my signature mate.
  13. Mike Grant....did you just change your name to One Kenny Foggo....so in the morning nobody would know who you were lol.....Kenny Foggo - legend!!!
  14. How about Neil Adams sitting on a fence............
  15. PS. What''s a WUM? That one had me baffled???
  16. Anyway, I''ve made the point Dont want to argue Mike, but I dont think you have mate.........8 pages and none about the original point of the thread lol.
  17. Nope that''s not it..... By the way well done on not swearing for two posts. Is that in reply to me??? If so what do you mean by that??? This is turning into Lost....with alternative worlds....and flashes nobody else can see..........
  18. I recall Wiz moaning at Chops about taking the pee out of being disabled.....but not Morty........
  19. Glad Im not alone Freddy.......its like an episode of Lost!!!
  20. he will invest a considerable amount of money in Blackpool and that they will be in the Prem within 5 years!! Really??? THadnt heard that....can you post the link please son, cheers.
  21. Morty, When you lose an argument you really need to show a bit more self restraint. All that hate, so sad. Where has anyone won or lost an argument on this thread Mike??? Im confused???
  22. that said Blackpool`s rise did not "just happen", the Latvian guy going into partnership with the Oyston family appears to be the catalyst. I will be honest Sons, I dint know about the latvian till today......
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