Can you remember May 11th 1993?

November 20, 2010

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of describing my path to the Light, and my close encounter with The Dark Side. Today is an opportunity to reflect upon past games against The Stratford-Bound Spurs (please Mr Levy take them there – you will be lauded forever in the anals of history – deliberate spelling 😉 )

Let us start back in Black and White. Not that wonderful Spurs double team of ‘61 but the supposedly as good side of ‘71; Gilzean, Chivers, Peters, Mullery, Perryman, Knowles and the best keeper of his generation Pat Jennings  formed the basis of their team with Mike England the cornerstone of their defence. We mullered them at WHL to take the League title with Raddy and Kennedy heroes of the night. The next week Charlie George secured our FIRST double.

Then there is the classic 5-0 at WHL in Dec 1978 with that wonderful Liam Brady goal. Or the 1-0 in the Cup semi-final at Wembley when TA gained our revenge for that awful day two years previous, when Gazza and Lineker’s goals sent me on a truly depressing drive home on the North Circular.

Thinking of great goals. Has anyone scored a better goal than Thierry in 2002. Receiving the ball in his own half, and weaving his way at speed through an increasingly bewildered Spurs defence before finishing with aplomb and running  Adebayor-esque up to the stunned Spurs fans in the Clock End. Sliding up to them on his knees the picture taken from his back towards those saps is one of the images of the decade.

Have we won the League at White Hart Lane just once? 2004. We arrive needing just a point to win the Premiership. Vieira scores in the first half. Pires adds a second. The Spuds jammed one from Redknapp (he used to play football) and get a second to force a draw through a dodgy penalty in the 93rd minute, by which time the only fans in the ground were wearing the Red and White.  The lads parading the champagne and the Cup around White Hart Lane was a delicious moment.

Then there was Fabregas’s classic at the Grove just a couple of years ago. The commentator had this to say “one of the greatest solo goals in Premiership history”. And Fab is better now….

Can you recall a victory for Spurs at our place? Would it surprise you if I told you it was 11th May 1993? I was at the game along with a paltry crowd of 26k. It was the last game of the season and we played our reserves, included in our team were Mark Flatts, Neil Heaney, Scott Marshall, Lyderson, Alan Miller and Gavin MacGowan. Why? Because we were playing Sheffield Wednesday on the 15th at Wembley where we won the Cup Double. Teddy scored for Spurs that day as he was to do so often down the years. He remains my and most other Arsenal fans most disliked player.

But let us think about that. 1993 against a reserve team. More than 17 years ago.

And before that? According to the Spurs website it was in January 1985, with goals from Garth Crooks and Mark Falco !! To say that we have dominated is a misnomer – we have ruled the North London divide for 25 years.

We have heard yesterday how the pendulum is/has swung Tottenham’s way. Where is the evidence for such a ludicrous statement? Is it in the table where they languish 5 places below us. Is it in their goalscoring record? No, we have scored 5 more than them already. The defence? Can’t be –  they have conceded 5 more than us. Is it their attendances – don’t be silly. The only evidence I can come up with where they are ahead of us is that they have spent tens of millions more than Arsenal in assembling their squad – but then they always have, so I can’t see the pendulum swinging.

As was pointed out in the comments, it is Liverpool who have suffered from the upturn in Tottenham’s form, but will they be able to maintain their place in the Champions League? In my opinion Everton, Villa and City are the frontrunners for 4th. Spurs are below Bolton and Sunderland yet their fans remain delusional!!

Spurs will consider leaving with a point a major victory and further proof of their improvement, whereas we will consider it two easy points thrown away.

One further point – a good refereeing performance is essential in a NLD, today we have Phil Dowd, a ref who is a disciplinarian. Let’s hope the game doesn’t rest on one of his more controversial decisions

Could today be the day when Spurs finally break their hoodoo?  What do you think?

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

The Emirates Library …. sshhhhhh ……

November 17, 2010

Written by CarlitoII

Who wasn’t excited to hear about the Arsenalization process of “The Mothership” as I call our beautiful stadium? The reinstatement of the North Bank and Clock End, the murals and all that other jazz designed make the stadium more of a fortress was our CEO’s shining hope to create more atmosphere and add to the uniqueness of the stadium. Does anyone feel it worked?

I, for one, feel that the atmosphere at the Grove has been even flatter this year than in years past – the only game that really got going was the game against Birmingham. Now, we’ve never had the loudest fans at home but those away boys do us proud, don’t they? So why is it that the lads behind me barely murmer along to the songs even though they’re barely 20 years old? Why is it that the guys next to me comment to each other as if they’re watching the game in their front room?

Before I get into my explanation, it has to be said that it’s never a flat atmosphere when the spuds, chavs or manks turn up- but against West Ham, West Brom and in particular against Aston Villa last season I felt that the whole stadium and overdosed on Nytol on the way to the ground!

Reason 1: Ticket prices. I pay about a month’s salary for my ticket. In practice, a lot of the members in and around me sell their tickets on for the less glamorous fixtures and this means that we get a lot of football tourists – possibly not even Gooners – coming to watch a game. My choice of verb is important here. They do not seem to consider the need to support the team, and I often find myself becoming part of the show for these good people (“ooh, he’s a colourful character – look at him shouting”)! I won’t blame them or the season ticket holders for selling on. Anyone who likes football would want to come. But if true Gooners could afford to go every week there would be a far better atmosphere.

Reason 2: Easy access. You can get from outside the ground to your seat in about 90 seconds – except you can’t in the 5 minutes before kickoff when everyone’s had the same idea and the turnstiles get blocked. The culture of getting into your seat/ grabbing your spot on the terrace has disappeared so the atmosphere doesn’t build up.

Reason 3: Booze restriction. If you could take your pint to your seat you would stay there, wouldn’t you? The irony of a tournament being sponsored by Heineken and Amstel having a booze prohibition is a matter for a different blog – but I cannot see any reason why I shouldn’t take a beer to my seat for a premier league game!

Reason 4: Plastic fans. I hate to say this but there are too many fans who were not with us before Arsene Wenger’s revolution. The “sing when your winning” mentality has to stop. We need to sing louder when we’re losing. I think this is the main reason why we are doing better away than at home – the real fans sing louder.

This blog is a bit of a rant, but I really believe that the team shouldn’t always be held responsible for the atmosphere at the ground. It’s our part to support the team and inspire them to greater things – we really lack the 12th man. I hope the CEO will take look at some of these factors – even putting “Come on you Reds” on the screens like they used to a Highbury would be a start!

Finally- what is the deal with the food? North London has fantastic food from Bagels to Turkish food, Indian, Thai, Italian- you name it. What do we get inside the stadium? Nachos. Hotdogs. Popcorn in the name of all things holy! This is only going to encourage people to treat a match like a trip to the cinema. Let’s make the stadium a reflection of the supporters and not the corporate ideals of the board- murals schmurals – let’s get ‘em singing!

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal’s home form, is it a matter of concern ?

November 16, 2010

Written by kelsey

Having lost twice already this season at home to W.B.A. and Newcastle, I thought it might make interesting reading to compare our home form at the Emirates compared to Highbury.

When we played Newcastle that was our 83rd home league game at the Emirates (season 06/07 to the present day) and in this period we have won 48, drawn 18 and lost 17.Goals scored 162 and 87 against.

The last 83 league games played at Highbury (season 01/02 to 05/06) resulted in won 60 drawn 15 lost 8. Goals scored 200 and 87 against.

The figure that stands out is that we have won 12 fewer games and lost more than double the games at the new stadium, and there may be several reasons for that. Naturally one could argue that over this period the team has changed dramatically yet has always maintained a top 4 place.

Obviously the cost involved in the building of the new stadium has had a great influence in restricting our buying powers and at the same time the arrival of Abramovich and now the the Sheikhs at City have inflated the prices of players to a level never dreamed of some ten years ago.

Furthermore one would have to take into consideration a certain time frame to adjust from moving from one of the smallest pitches in the Premier League with an enclosed area to a modern state of the art far larger pitch at The Emirates, which many say lacks atmosphere which in turn doesn’t benefit the players.

One would have theorized that with the increased pitch size our style of play would have been tougher to defend against – which has not proven to be the case.

One could also argue that it’s not the size of the pitch that has been our problem and that it might be down to either long term injuries to our strike force or other teams using the Big Sam’s man-ball tactics, but W.B.A. especially disproved that point.

In conclusion I would say that the main reason that we are not a “fortress” is that defensively we are not as strong or organised as we were in the Highbury days.

I would like your thoughts , as we approach our next home game which is imperative for us to win to keep up our new found momentum.

In conclusion I would like to thank gunnerN5 for providing me with some excellent stats.

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Posted by kelsey

September 6th, a landmark day in Arsenal’s history – written by peachesgooner

September 6, 2010

Written by peachesgooner

On September 6th 1913 The Arsenal played their first game at their new ground – Highbury. It was a 2-1 win over Leicester Fosse.

Here’s a bit of history behind the move to Highbury. By the end of the 1912/13 season, Henry Norris who had recently taken charge of the club came to the conclusion that if the club wanted to grow they needed to move to a new ground. Highbury was chosen as it was close to an underground station. The proximity to the totts could have been a problem but nevertheless Norris went ahead and found the money for a 21 year lease on the ground at Highbury. All appeals by residents and other local clubs were quashed and the  mighty Arsenal was born.

The speed with which the site was organised and completed was amazing. Within four months the pitch was levelled and installed, a new grandstand was partly built and the terracing and turnstiles were ready for the first game.

Henry Norris’ next aim was to get Arsenal into the First Division, but his plans were thwarted by the onset of the First World War. The shenanigans involved in getting Arsenal promoted are a bit of a skeleton in the cupboard but suffice to say we were promoted to the First Division by a ballot at the expense of the spuds.

This history lesson came about because I was taking a look around Arse.com yesterday afternoon feeding my gooner habit – not the best place some would say, when I happened upon the History section. I was really impressed with how much  detailed information there is  available.

I discovered this important fact about September 6th 1913 looking at the page titled  On This Day In …… which gives an archive calender with a fact for every day in the year. Click here to see the page for yourself. Here are the first five entries:-

  • 1. 1934…Arsenal recorded their biggest ever win over Liverpool, 8-1 at Highbury. Drake scored 3.
  • 2. 1893…Woolwich Arsenal played their first ever league game, a 2-2 draw with Newcastle United.
  • 3. 1904…Woolwich Arsenal played their first ever game in England’s top division, versus Newcastle.
  • 4. 1979…Arsenal recorded their biggest ever League Cup win, a 7-0 rout against Leeds United.
  • 5. 1970…Two George Armstrong goals beat Spurs 2-0. Arsenal lifted the ‘Double’ later that season.

Always nice to find something heartwarming like beating spuds. Obviously there are 30 days of facts and being a bit geeky I had to read them all and pass some on.  In September 1958 we had two 6-1 wins within four days over Bolton and Everton. Freddie Ljungberg was signed by Arsène Wenger on the 11th of September 1998 and scored on his debut nine days later in a 3-0 win over the mancs.

Ian Wright was signed by George Graham from Crystal Palace on the 23rd in 1991 and he scored on his debut on the 25th in a League cup game against Leicester. In 1993 he scored his 5th hat-trick in a 5-0 win against Huddersfield in the League Cup and on the 13th September 1997 he broke Cliff Basten’s goalscoring record with a hat-trick against Bolton.

It was lovely to discover that three of my favourite players of all time were born on various dates in September, David Seaman, Emmanuel Petit and Sol Campbell. But the fact that made me smile the most was the one listed for the 28th September 1996 Frenchman Arsène Wenger became the first foreign manager of Arsenal ……… and the rest is history.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal, man and boy…… memoirs of a life-long Gunner

July 21, 2010

We are delighted to publish this fascinating historical insight from our latest writer GunnerN5. The bomb site he played on as a lad is what we now know as Ashburton Grove … yes, the Emirates Stadium; how times have changed.

I was born on Avenell Road as the bombs were dropping on Islington; later we were evacuated to Lemsford near Hatfield in the county of Hertfordshire.

My maternal Grandfather was a coalman and used to deliver around the cobbled streets of Highbury by horse and cart. He lived on Stavordale Road and watched the very first Arsenal game at Highbury.
For my 10th birthday he took me to my first Arsenal game- Nov 22nd 1947 – Arsenal 2 Huddersfield 0 – I was hooked for life.

We were a poor family and my parents could not afford to buy me tickets to the game but that did not stop a determined Arsenal supporter from getting into the ground. Over the walls, I had to negotiate the broken glass bedded into the cement at the top of the walls and often went home with torn pants and got a clip round the ear. Through my Dads legs and under the turnstiles, usually ending up with scuffed knees.

Failing either of these ways in I would wait until half time and when the stewards opened the gates I would dash in and hide in the crowd – the stewards used to give a mock chase but I think they kinda enjoyed letting me go.

I went to every home game, 1st team one week, reserves the next and went to every away cup game that I could afford. We stood as a family under the clock, about 20 of us. My parents both were born in family’s with 9 sons who fathered 46 sons. Of the 64 of us, 60 were fervent Gunners but 4 misguided soul’s went the wrong way up Seven Sisters Road and ended up to be Spurs supporters – I ask ya?

Life’s path took me and my family to Canada, it was a real shock not being able to go to live games but I’ve made up for it by having 3 satellite dishes and the internet – between which I NEVER miss a game, although not always live. Still to this day Arsenal results can make or break my day and as game time approaches I still get goose bumps.

Being a statistical type of person I’ve created masses of data on our history and have recorded on excel spreadsheets every seasons results by year and manager. I also have our history by every team we’ve played in the EPL.

I’ve seen the teams of our past 12 managers going back to George Allison and in this mans view Arsene Wenger is far and away the best.

Unfortunately I’ve not seen a live game at the Emirates although as a kid I did play around that area.

Cheers to all and here’s to another exciting season.

Since GunnerN5 grew up in wartime, we thought it would be interesting to reproduce this passage describing the adaptation of Highbury, taken from Arsenal.com…..

Highbury becomes ARP stronghold during World War II

During the Second World War 42 of Arsenal’s 44 professional footballers were drafted into the services. The majority of the administration staff at Highbury followed and even the stadium itself did its bit for the war effort.

Arsenal Stadium, Highbury was transformed into a ARP (Air Raid Precautions) stronghold and Arsenal had to play their wartime home fixtures at White Hart Lane!

Incidentally, manager George Allison did convert the referees room at Highbury into a small flat for a while.

Success continued during the war years with Arsenal winning the South A League in 1940, the London League in 1942, the Football League South and the Football League South Cup Final in 1943.

Arsenal relied heavily on guest players during that six-year period, notably Stan Mortensen and Stanley Matthews.

For all its efforts, Highbury paid the price when it was bombed. The North Bank was completely destroyed and much of the terracing on the South Stand was also damaged. These had to be repaired before Arsenal could return home after the war.

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Posted by Rasp

Emirates Stadium: A Soulless Bowl or Waiting on History?

July 20, 2010

I bet all you lucky souls out there with tickets in the Orange and Green quadrants can’t wait. Yes, YES, YES, YES no longer are we the Orange, Green, Blue and Yellow Quadrants, its back, we are the North Bank, we are the Clock End …….. um …. we are the North Bank/Clock End Emirates? Arsenal? Highbury?

Does the chant stay the same, will we be hearing the blissful:

WE ARE THE NORTH BANK
WE ARE THE NORTH BANK
WE ARE THE NORTH BANK HIGHBURY

WE ARE THE CLOCK END
WE ARE THE CLOCK END
WE ARE THE CLOCK END HIGHBURY

Are the words staying the same or will they be changed?

First off, I sadly never got to see the mighty Arsenal play at Highbury and its honestly a thing that saddens me. So, for a change in this post instead of rabbling on like I normally do and thinking I’m right about everything, I am going to ask the regulars here, and those of you who pop in, who have been to Highbury regularly and now the Emirates some questions.

Has the Emirates got a raw deal?

I know its a structure made from cement and steel etc. but to me stadiums are living, tactile, almost breathing objects. They echo of battles lost and won, of players who have taken to the field as warriors. Highbury is packed to the gills with this history: Herbert Chapman leading out his groundbreaking Arsenal side through the marble hallways. Liam Brady curling in another screamer with his left foot. Ian Wright scoring goal after goal with a smirk on his face. The battles and hidings we gave them lot down the road. Bergkamp and Henry leaving the opposition looking like idiots (not that it was confined to Highbury). Adams scoring THAT goal to confirm the title, celebrating the Invincibles. Looking up at the Clock for it to hit 3.

There is a certain sense of attachment to Highbury, I have it and have only ever walked past it as a block of flats.

But is it time to move on?

Of course I don’t mean to forget. How could you forget? It would be sinful to forget, but when is it time to stop longing and whining that we are no longer at “home” at Highbury?

The Emirates or rightly Ashburton Grove has done nothing wrong. It is a wonderful stadium, and aside from Wembley I can’t think of a ground in England that comes remotely close to it. It is something to be very proud of. Its only fault is that it has seen us through a tough time (if constantly finishing in the top 4 and getting to the latter stages of the Champions League are indeed tough times) and for that it is almost at times treated with disdain.

There haven’t been too many epic games there, or a single trophy held aloft but we’ve been there for FOUR seasons, not 93 years. They will come, give history a chance to be written.

I was reading an interview with Johnny Lydon in FourFourTwo this month and he reckons the sense of community has gone from the club since the move to the Emirates. Again, that is a question for those of you in the know? Although common sense would tell me that the Clock Enders and North Bankers no longer sit together, have been split and people are getting accustomed to new faces.

But maybe instead of moaning at the club, its time for the fans to do something about it? Personally, I’m a firm believer in “ask not what your club can do for you, but what you can do for your club” The powers that be have given us back The Clock, The North Bank, and have added as much Arsenal features as possible. Why not try to keep the chants going this season – yes, even if we have to sit down. Why not get to know the person sitting next to you? Maybe its just my inability to keep my mouth shut but I met the most fascinating Gooner at the Bolton match two seasons ago who told me of his trips abroad donkeys years ago to see Arsenal play. The club can only do so much, at times we have to help ourselves.

I had planned on going to a home and away match this season. I now think an away match and two home matches are in order – I’ve just got to sit in the North Bank and Clock End.

Whether I like it, you like it, or anyone else likes it or not our home is now the Emirates. Its great to look back on Highbury and it’ll be always here in our hearts (maybe more so yours than mine) but if we keep looking back over our shoulder, we won’t know our way forward, and this club is moving forward.

We may have moved ground, but aren’t we still The Arsenal?

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Posted by criochnaithe

Transitions & Resolutions – from Highbury to Ashburton Grove

July 1, 2010

Written by charybdis1966

“Where are the big signings?” is a cry Gooners are used to hearing or making this time of year, usually followed by “Didn’t we move to our new stadium so we could compete for the marquee signings?”

Times have moved on somewhat for our club, it’s first ever game, as Dial Square, in December 1886(against Eastern Wanderers, to be historically complete) was on a piece of wasteland on the Isle of Dogs thereafter till 1913 we played in various locations around the Plumstead Common area of South East London. As our delightful Spud brethren never tire of calling us Woolwich Wanderers our South London heritage is undeniable, but the move north of the river to Highbury in 1913, due to poor transport links at the time in south London was to allow more spectators to be able to attend our matches. The land south of the river is softer and therefore more difficult to build on, and make tunnels in for the underground tube system that was being rolled out at the time. Hence the tube until recently did not progress far beyond New Cross in south east London.

The subsequent move ninety-three years later to the Grove was essentially for the same reason – to get more bums on seats. As the time to leave Highbury approached the natural reaction was of sorrow at leaving the old place. Yes, it was antiquated, yes it patently had seats, corridors and passages designed for the smaller sized turn-of-the 20th century-sized spectator however there was dolefulness about many a Gooner as the 2005-06 season came to a close.

I remember leaving my place of work at the time during the last few seasons at Highbury in Blackstock Road many a lunch time to join the queue for the box offices in the East Stand where I would be served by bored, disinterested ticket clerks, slumped behind the windows. (You can compare this to the staff at the  Armoury who are aware of at least the basics of customer care, while some of the surliness of old seems to remain at club shop at Finsbury Park tube station).

The closeness of the crowd to the players was an important part of the intimacy of Highbury, I recall seeing Bobby Pires standing just eight feet from me when I had a front row seat for a Coca Cola Cup game – I’m sure I got a few flicks of sweat from his floppy fringe as he swivelled his head one way and the other looking for a player to launch his throw in at.

It was experiences like this, although nothing special in themselves though collectively able to mould our memories of Highbury, that many would fear losing as we contemplated the move. I would plot out the actual move in my mind: leave my seat in the East lower, left turn out of the East Stand gates, left again into Gillespie Road and then follow the bend of the road to the left, past the small park to our new home.

A wise man once said “Life is all about learning to let go, of those dear to you especially” that can also apply to places dear to you and who among us didn’t feel a sympathy to the mood conveyed by those images of our players walking west down Gillespie Road as part of the “Final Salute” campaign directed by AFC?

We’ve all been left speechless by our first impressions of Ashburton Grove even though it initially had an antiseptic feel that took a while to become accustomed to and slowly it’s character is starting to form, of course a trophy winning team will add to that character pretty much instantly.

Four seasons on and it seems that the cash flow situation that has hampered our actions in the transfer market may finally be easing and one would think today we will start to see the events of this transfer window start to unravel differently to those of the last five or six as many players contracts typically expire on the last day of June.

To my mind, the club is at a critical juncture and were there to be a sense of deja-vu about the events of this month and the next transfer wise, i.e. acting like a small time club rather than the elite club we aspire to be, I fear we may struggle to convince ourselves we left Highbury for the right reasons.

New Home Kit (Finally A Beaut!)

(Hope you don’t mind I putting up the pics Chary, Irishgunner).

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

A Belated Happy Birthday – the Renaissance of Football

June 5, 2010

Posted by BigRaddy

May 26 1989, a day never to be forgotten in Gooner history, but also a preface to the modern Arsenal. Here is my story of the evening and why I think it changed the face of our fabulous club.

The run up to the game is embedded in the history books, but no-one can effectively describe the disbelief and despair that echoed around Highbury following the 2-2 home draw to Wimbledon. We had a 12 point lead over Liverpool at Xmas and had seen it whittled away to being 3 points behind. We had thrown away 5 home points in two games against poor opposition. We had choked. Goodness knows the furore had there been blogs in those days – Samaritans would have been busy!

The drudge home after the Dons game was very long. I gave little hope for our chances at Anfield and didn’t even try to get a ticket, but approaching the game I dug deep, sought some “mental strength,” found some fighting spirit.

It should be noted that the game was on a Friday night…. unheard of in those days and rare now.

My wife, thinking that football was a Saturday sport, had booked us to go to a dinner party at her new Boss´s (let’s call him Rupert) flat in the centre of Hampstead. She worked in the media business, and all the guests were from Saatchi & Saatchi.  I told her that I couldn’t attend unless I could watch the game through dinner, her response was to tell me to call Rupert. And here we come to the huge social change that came about that night, and in my opinion changed the face of football forever.

This was the season of Hillsborough, the reputation of English football fans was at an all-time low. If you liked football you were either violent or ignorant and uncultured. Football was for Yobs. Rupert, being cultured and polite, was delighted to hear from me and said that as a guest of course I could watch the game, but ….. I would have to sit at the table with the sound off and participate in the conversation.

We arrived and were shown into a beautiful dining room with a long table and I was sat at the end with a separate table for my 14″ TV. I felt humiliated and less-than, however my addiction came first and I was satisfied. The host had caterers to do the food and serve the wine allowing him to concentrate on his guests. Needless to say., I was at the opposite end of the table to him, due to his assumption that my passion must mean I was incapable of enriching any intelligent conversation.

Seriously, to those youngsters who read this, football fans were viewed as stupid. There were no University courses in Sports Management, no Soccer Academies etc et

So, the first half comes and goes and I am getting tense. At half time people were very “nice” to me, commiserating as though I had lost a pet. Champagne was flowing around the table, some guests went to the toilet to “powder their nose” and I sat there non-communicative, wishing I could find somewhere dark to be alone.

Second half kicked off. Smudger scores. I jump up shouting; they look at me as though I have escaped from a Psychiatric Unit, BUT and here is the start of the change – they got caught up in my passion. Rupert asked me to turn the TV so he could see it. Questions were asked “Who is the tall bloke who keeps raising his arm?”, Why don’t they shoot more? ( 😉 )”, “Why , when Arsenal play in red & white are they playing in yellow and blue?” Needless to say, I was incapable of speech.

The Mickey T moment. Never ever to be forgotten. It replays in my mind in slow motion (as I am sure it does for you). The whole table went mental. Jumping in the air, hugging, back-slapping and shouting. My main recollection was thinking “Where is my coat, I have to get to Highbury…”. but Rupert and his friends were high on the game. They had really enjoyed watching a half of football. They connected! If Big Raddy  – a less thuggish man you could never meet – was a football fanatic, it couldn’t be just razorblade toting thugs that went to Highbury.

I am ashamed to say that I “liberated” a couple of bottles of bubbly, grabbed the wife, and scedaddled as fast as I could to N5. I was dropped off outside the Gunners Pub carrying the champagne which lasted about 4 minutes.  The Fever Pitch film got it right, there was an enormous street party, a feeling of comraderie never repeated. The noise was deafening and I stood on the Marble steps until around 3 a.m. Even at that time the Holloway Road was awash with jubilant Gooners , sharing laughter and booze. Fantastic.

I met Rupert and a number of the fellow guests over the following seasons. All had bought season tickets at Highbury and were as knowledgeable and connected to the Arsenal as any Gooner. Football had become the Cocaine of the Masses!

This is what the Guardian write of the game and the social effect….

“Many cite the match as a pivotal turning point in English football. Writing in The Guardian, Jason Cowley notes how instead of rioting, as had occurred at Heysel with fatal consequences, Liverpool fans stayed on after the game and applauded Arsenal “as if they understood that we were at the start of something new; that there would be no returning to the ways of old”. Cowley describes the match as “the night football was reborn” and that the event “repaired the reputation of football”.

The match is not only seen as the starting point of a renaissance in English football, but also the moment where people started to see the untapped commercial potential of live football on television.”

“Good Old Arsenal We are proud to say that name”

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

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