Arsenal - 1 Dynamo Kiev - 0, and Woolworths goes into receivership

by Parsley Post to Twitter

PARSLEY’S COMMLOCK

Sports Review : Arsenal - 1 Dynamo Kiev - 0 25/11/08

A last minute free ticket from my friend Mario took me with him to see Arsenal vs Dynamo Kiev (from the Ukraine) in a rare visit for me to live football. I have taken to watching some of Match Of The Day on a Saturday night whilst riding 12 miles on my exercise bike in my shed, in a very mild attempt to make me feel fit. With the TV bang in front of me I can put on a sprint when there’s any goal area action. The nature of mainstream non-live TV football these days is that the matches are edited right down so that there is only action. This is all very well for ensuring everyone is likely to get a few minutes of their favourite team, but it destroys the natural cadence of the game. My father used to follow the Arsenal, and my brother discovered that McGill (the lead character in sixties Cult TV show ‘A Man In A Suitcase’) was named after an Arsenal player. When Frenchman Arsene Wenger became manager of Arsenal, the fact that its North London’s fans were not natural francophiles tickled me. Looking at their teamsheet it listed a very international collection of names. Having lost to Manchester City 3-0 in their previous match, it seemed reasonable that they would be in fierce mood for a better result tonight. The team news on BBC Sport Online read like a catalogue of injury misery. The Emirates Stadium (nearest to Holloway Road tube, but walkable from Highbury & Islington) is absolutely enormous, with a feel similar to the Allianz Stadium in Munich, which I went to a few years ago. The most important element is the view of the game, and this is where the stadium is spot on: Despite being ‘in the gods’ as far as seat position was concerned, we were afforded a magnificent unobstructed view of the whole pitch. The steep ‘stadium’-style seating ensured that the person in front could not obstruct the view. However, the toilets and refreshments facilities were very poorly thought out affairs, and massive queues at both caused us to get back 5 minutes late for the start of the second half. At other grounds I’ve been to, the toilets have an ‘in’ and an ‘out’ door so that people can pass through. These did not and so there was a crush of people trying to get in and out, and the hygiene inevitably suffered. The Arsenal squad looked extremely young and there seemed to be a lack of ‘gravitas’ in their performance as a result. In the first half they had the significant share of the attacking play but the Ukrainian side snatched a couple of cheeky retorts and one could imagine them ‘nicking’ a goal against the run of play. In the second half the Ukrainians dominated and looked confident and strong. In response Arsenal got a very late winning goal against the run of play from one of their late substitutes, Bendtner. The dismay of Dynamo, whose hard cheering fans were occupying a small corner slice of a stadium full of almost 60,000 fans, was palpable. They tried to give themselves a last minute fight back opportunity and earn themselves a rather severe sending off decision for their troubles. The Arsenal fans went away invigorated, as the result causes them to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League competition. However, it was hardly a commanding performance, and they will need to reflect rather more of the calibre of their financing and stadium to succeed this season. The walk out of the Emirates Stadium was long, and the public transport connections were full to overflowing. The local planning has been criticised for not taking crowd movements into account, and it was certainly a fairly long haul (although at least walking fairly freely) to the Angel to get a tube without horrendous queuing. Overall though it was an exciting an enjoyable night out.

Retail News : Woolworths goes into receivership

When I was a kid, my Dad gave me my birthday money and took me to Woolworths. He looked on appalled as I selected plastic toys from a range called ‘Space X’. "Are you going to watch me all the time?" I asked him. He walked off embarrassed and resolved never to interfere with my selection of my own presents again. As Woolworths goes into receivership it emerges that it was ability to have a look at what you were buying before you bought it that was their innovation. I remember when I moved to Borehamwood in the 90’s I was chuffed that they still had a Woolworths and a Wimpy Bar. Unfortunately retail success is not inextricably linked with kitsch nostalgia. Someone joked about wondering where were they going to shoplift if Woolworths closed down. Everyone makes intellectual marketing arguments about ‘not knowing your target audience’ but it is quite clear to me that Tescos in larger stores is trying to cover the plastic toys/household necessity zone that Woolworths had occupied. Despite not really having a good reputation I will be sad to go to Tescos for what I would have bought in Woolworths.

parsley@gardenrecords.com [www.gardenrecords.com]