Arsenal Fan TV - When the man on the street talks back

None of the pundits planned on letting the man on the street talk back, at least not without the stabilisers of the phone-in environment, writes Larry Ryan.

“The man is a fraud, fam... you understand? What the fuck was that, blud? Be real. This is bullshit, blud. I’ve had enough of this shit, fam. I’ve had enough.”

The poetic words of Arsenal Fan TV mainstay Troopz outside Stamford Bridge last Saturday, urging a swift end to Arsene Wenger’s reign.

If 2016 was the year of the pundit, there’s no guarantee the pundit won’t do a Leicester in 2017. Because this is Troopz’s time.

Watching Leicester play Manchester United for Sky Sports last Sunday, Jamie Carragher wrestled with one aspect of an increasingly sticky situation for his people.

“No wonder we’re losing viewing figures when you see first halves like that.”

Sky’s reputation for exaggerating the entertainment value of the fare on offer might be somewhat overstated, but Carra was still deviating wildly from network policy in accepting that people have begun to switch off from the Premier League.

Up to now, Sky bosses have put reported ratings drops of 13% on last season down to things like ‘market disruption’ and a ‘fractured landscape’. Punters finding new ways to immerse themselves in football, not all of them above board.

But Carra, perhaps in a solo run designed to protect his own ‘brand authenticity’, was prepared to indulge another theory; that viewers are growing a bit weary.

And Carra and his incredibly well-paid colleagues must watch their own house too. When the punters stream the games illegally on their phones, they may as well go straight to YouTube for the opinions.

Last Saturday, after Chelsea v Arsenal, Gary Neville chose an interesting target for his latest ‘war of words’.

Having described as an “idiot” a fan with a banner urging Arsene Wenger to go, Neville went in search of other opinions to dismiss on the Sunday show.

“I walked out of Chelsea and there was a couple of those Arsenal Fan TV camera things everywhere. And to be honest, it was embarrassing, listening to it and watching it.”

The “camera things”, further investigation indicates, were indeed cameras and the Neviller may well have stopped by during Troopz’s turn in front of one.

Troopz is one of the more trenchant and provocative characters in the Arsenal Fan TV stable. Though he is showing signs of being a one-trick pony, fam. Or maybe two, blud. You understand?

This week, it suited Gary Neville’s purposes to go to war with Troopz and AFTV, to serve as a gallant protector of Arsene Wenger, who Neville described last year as “arrogant and naive”.

This season we have surely reached peak pundit, every week offering a fresh ‘pundit storm’. Klopp v The Nevilles; Mourinho v Michael Owen, Pep v Stan Collymore. Pundits have taken their place at the top table with the gaffers. The game’s great influencers.

Belatedly, another group are now on the radar; the fans, or at least various groups purporting to represent the fans.

The average viewing figure for a Sky match is down to 1 million. Who knows how many stick around for the punditry.

But since his video was posted on the AFTV YouTube channel last Saturday afternoon, Troopz has clocked around 440,000 views. Slightly more phlegmatic voices such as stablemate DT had 440,000; the angry Claude 470,000. Ty, 200,000. Lee, 150,000.

The two videos posted by channel founder and presenter Robbie Lyle in response to Neville’s attack have been watched 400,000 times. All in, nearly twice the average Sky matchday reach. The phenomenon is not confined to Arsenal. A recent lament about how soulless Anfield has become, posted on Liverpool channel The Redmen TV, attracted around 190,000 views.

Toffee TV, Full Time Devils, ChelseaFansChannel, SpurredOn and the rest are growing quickly. Much of it a lot more reasoned than Troopz. And more sensible than the kind of punditry that implied Hector Bellerin’s brain rattled in his skull because Arsenal don’t want it enough.

Eamon Dunphy and John Giles never tire of patiently explaining things to the man in the street. Rio Ferdinand embraced Twitter because it allowed him “to talk to the man on the street.”

But none of them planned on letting the man on the street talk back, at least not without the stabilisers of the phone-in environment.

Now the men in the street outside the Arsenal are shouting and Robbie Lyle has called for ‘a revolution’ of fans to make their voices heard.

And he has invited Neville onto AFTV. Neville has snapped up that win-win. Following the audience, no doubt mindful of the day when his personal brand might be more valuable outside the Sky fold.

Troopz has already spun off his own channel, Troopz TV, trying to stay ahead of the game, and stay in contention for a place on the next season of The Jump.

And Arsene has his own troubles. Though there may be some consolation — and solace for Carra and Nev too — in the moment he met Troopz recently. On the street, naturally.

“Arsene, start Rob Holding, blud. He’s a quality player, man,” was the high decibel Troopz gambit.

Arsene, window wound down, rejoined with an air of some bemusement. “He is a quality player. That’s why I bought him.”

That was enough for a cackling Troopz, a season’s anger melted in the thrill of an audience. Signs that, even if does get a grip on the levers of power, the man on the street will always be in awe of the football man.

Strachan was born before football began

There is something much more frightening to Sky Sports than even Troopz or fan TV; that dark uncertain time before football began in 1992.

A chat with Niall Quinn of Limerick’s finest The Hitchers this week brought to mind that time. In Cork’s Fred Zeppelin’s tonight with his Half Man Half Biscuit tribute band, Half Arsed Half Biscuit, it’s 20 years since The Hitchers released Strachan, one of the greatest football songs. It was written five years earlier, during Leeds’ title charge in the final season before the Premier League.

As a teenager, Niall admits, he had no interest in football, and recalls the days when it was just not cool to like the game, at least if you were an indie kid. Echo and the Bunnymen’s Ian McCul loch was regarded as an oddity for his interest in Liverpool’s fortunes.

A scan of music history shows football making scant impression, until bands like The Fall and The Wedding Present began to nudge it into popular culture.

And then there was HMHB’s suite of football references — notably All I Want For Christmas is a Dukla Prague Away Kit — and preoccupation with TV presenters; Bob Wilson Anchorman, Gubba Lookalikes, Elton Welsby dressed a French maid. The Sultans, of course, were notable contributers this side of the pond.

For a time, Niall suggests, football almost seemed an ironic pleasure, in certain circles. Like adults watching children’s telly.Though in fairness to them, the musos were on board before the writers, who clambered on after Nick Hornby and Italia ‘90.

It was all a far cry from today’s total immersion. Falling ratings suggest a rewind is possible, but could the game ever truly return to the margins?

The Sky would fall in.