I mean… I mean… I mean… I mean what kind of football season has it been whereby my entire footballing joy for the entire year hinges on the possible departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal? How is that a ‘defining moment’ in my life? How could I be so shallow and low?? Oh, that’s easy, I’ve done that all my life. But now that Arsenal have won the (fucking) FA Cup (agaiaiaiaiain), my only hope for salvation of the entire human condition is that their talismanic Frenchman with the funny forehead and unpronounceable name, might leave to ‘find glory’. Like; the FA Cup is not enough???? Loyalty to club and badge, plus entry into the Europa League of Not Quite Champions, is insufficient ‘glory’ for a man of his stature? Is he unaware of how big the FA Cup, the world’s oldest sporting club competition, is? Or, rather, how big it used to be, not so long ago? The answer is ‘no’, or rather, ‘non’. Because he’s French journeyman tosser who wouldn’t know Islington from a hole in the ground (ok, there are similarities) if someone else pays him 250 grand a week.

However, I don’t want him to go because he’s a tosser. I want him to go because he’s so bleedin’ good. Much too good. So please, get onto twitter, follow him, or whatever one does on such a thing, and just tweet “you’re too good for this shit” and appeal to his inner arrogance. Which, being a Frenchman, is not too far from his outer arrogance. And then he’ll leave.

One man whose loyalty can never be questioned is Eddie Howe. The (former, as of yesterday) manager of Bournemouth. He, basically, other than a few aberrant years, spent his entire career either playing for or managing The Cherries. If you bit him there’d be a stone in the middle. He was THAT Bournemouth. But they sacked him because they were relegated. Never mind that he took that team from Division 2 to the Premiership and kept them there for 5 seasons. Four more than the most optimistic Bournemouth fan would have dreamed. And without the normal ridiculous levels of over-spending that stupid clubs delude themselves into making.

I will miss Eddie. Quite frankly, I love him. He is eloquent, charming and quietly spoken. But unlike some (virtually all) managers, he accepts his responsibilities and never blames others. In fact, he’s much too intelligent to be in football altogether. A thoroughly ‘good bloke’ all round and his departure (though probably not for too long) is football’s loss.

Happy Sunday

A xxxx