The Sad State of Arsenal's Highbury Stadium

Maybe I’m getting older, but I’m getting a bit disillusioned by the Premiership. I’m witnessing first-hand some of the pervasive problems that need to be fixed including:

• Players influencing referee decisions by getting in the face of officials
• The lack of atmosphere as sedate football fans sit in plastic seats instead of terracing, and
• The price of tickets (especially where they’re not providing value for the money).

While watching Premiership matches in-person and experiencing the atmosphere is special, it pales in comparison to what we should be getting for our money. In both the Everton and Blackburn matches I attended, the matches weren’t the best quality. The saving grace for both matches were wonderful goals by Arteta and Tugay. Both foreign stars. Both showing much more talent than the home-grown youngsters.

Let me get off my soapbox for a minute to introduce you to episode 37 of the EPL Talk Podcast, released earlier today featuring an interview with Chris Slegg from The Beautiful Game Podcast, my impressions of a torn down Highbury, and a reflection on the controversy from the Blackburn v Spurs match.

Listen to the podcast today at http://epltalk.libsyn.com

You can view images from my trip to Highbury Stadium at http://www.flickr.com/photos/epltalk/