Football Christmas Parties

By Ahmed Bilal on December 10th, 2009

Get the inside scoop on Arsenal Christmas parties of the past, including a Wenger story, from a former Arsenal player on this week’s Soccerlens Podcast.

The Christmas Party is a seminal event. It fathers the juiciest rumours of the year. It creates character sketches so accurate Data wouldn’t find flaws in them. It inspires devotion and bonding between employees at an unprecedented level, never seen before or after the event.

If you didn’t know better, you’d think this was a religious festival. Hmm…

The Footballer Christmas Party is a disaster that’s spent months in the ready room being planned out thoughtfully by some of the most thoughtless individuals (James Beattie and Rio Ferdinand, I’m looking at you two) and it explodes spectacularly, disgracefully and with adverse affects to the reputations of all involved.

Still, there will be Christmas parties this year, and those involving footballers are bound to be extra-special. I say we let them celebrate it – they can afford it after all – and let’s sit back, relax and enjoy the aftermath. Plus let’s face it – what else is Rio Ferdinand going to do this month? Get fit? Pffffttttt.