Layth’s TAKE

Dear reader: You spoke, we listened. The Gooner Fanzine calendar is back. Massive thanks to the brilliant duo Kev Whitcher and Darren Rackham for their hard work in putting together such a wonderful calendar from start to finish. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks also to AISA for sponsoring the calendar and helping to cover a slice of the costs.

With the price of printing and postage rising all the time, allied with matchday sales of the Gooner inexorably falling, sealed by the fact we failed to make the magical 1,000 subscriber mark, it means we’ve had to cut our cloth accordingly.

Hence a smaller than normal issue, albeit full colour. This is because the cost of printing and postage of the calendar on top of a full 68 page issue would be prohibitive and completely shatter our fragile budget.

Without being too bah humbug, we’re simply not prepared to gamble the financial future of the Gooner on a calendar, as much as I’m absolutely delighted to bring it back.

A full service 68 page colour issue will resume for issue 304 out for the Liverpool game in early February and of course the rest of 2023-24.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you from everyone associated with the Gooner Fanzine.

And thank you to each and every single person who loves and supports our fanzine by reading this – quite simply you are keeping us alive in such tough times, and for that, we are eternally grateful - because I am relentlessly refusing to let our wonderful labour of love die, despite all the growing challenges that we face.

PS Keep up to date with our latest Gooner news by signing up via our website to our weekly newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every Friday.

CONTENTS

HIGHBURY SPY His much loved, must- read column 4

MICKEY CANNON On West Ham, VAR, Atmosphere, and more 8

JEORGE BIRD Focus on Academy star Chido Obi-Martin 14

YOUR LETTERS Hear your fellow Gooners opinions 16

AFC WOMEN The latest from the WSL season 17

COACH MIKE Who should sign in January? 22

ALISTAIR COLEMAN The Cursed Gooner & more 26

OBITUARIESRemembering those who are no longer with us 29