If you like your Clash, Jam, Autons and throw away seventies facts (and can stomach a period in Arsenal’s history when, barring 1971, all was far from rosy) then From Glam To The Jam could be the book for you.
A no holds barred semi autobiographical account of life in Suffolk in this period detailing some of the more obscure events with a sly enduring wit.
Set against the backdrop of the music genres of the period Step fondly reminisces about gigs, matches, television, media and the infuriatingly under-performing Gooners!
Whilst the Suffolk community remained entrenched in the likes of Meatloaf, Quo, Showaddywaddy and ITFC the author’s allegiance to Arsenal remained intact.
School antidotes ,trips and tours are re-visited and escapades recounted in detail including his first gig (The Clash), his first live football match (Lincoln V Doncaster) and his first set of wheels.
During the seventies Arsenal refused to corrupt their kit with Umbro stripes and failed to mount a serious title challenge after 1971 but apparently in Graham Rix they had a player who was better than Hoddle!
The pains of the author are all too apparent (missing Tony Woodcock’s 5 goal haul Vs Villa in 1983 a case in point) and there is an enjoyable cynicism throughout. Those with memories of these times should find this a highly enjoyable read and break into a chuckle or two.
“Ange Postecoglou has improved Spurs in a short space of time “Ange-ball the future” “Spurs no longer Spursy”
The truth is, Tottenham are no better than last season. Do not believe me?
Taking into account that they have scored one less, conceded one more, do not have European football and were knocked out of the League Cup at the 2nd round stage for the first time since 2005, I would actually say Spurs are in a worse position than they were at the same stage as last season.
Yes, an injury time winner will always be celebrated like mad. Limbs everywhere. Every fan will do it. But the media praise for them needing a last minute own goal to beat a team that played with 9-men for half an hour was a bit OTT.
Meanwhile, we get on with our business quietly.
The Arsenal continued the slow start to the season with a 4-0 win away from home. It was a comfortable run out. We never looked like conceding and, on another day, could have scored 6.
And do you know what, I do not really care that we are being ignored by the media.
After last seasons hype, it will actually be nice for us to go about our business this campaign without the media bluster. It will show that we are back where we belong.
For Arsenal, 17 points from 7 games is not longer considered an exceptional start. For Tottenham it is one of their best starts in their history. And Liverpool, with 16 points, are back to their best under Jurgen Klopp.
Last season it was Arsenal that the media did not stop speaking about. Week in week out being praised on how good we were. The turnaround by Mikel Arteta. But Manchester City quietly kept winning. Kept on our coat tails before accelerating in that final straight.
At the moment, it feels like we are that horse in the Grand National that everyone has forgotten about. We are sitting in the leading pack but the commentator has failed to mention us. We are keeping up with the other front runners and just waiting for our opportunity to hit the front.
The media can hype up Tottenham as they always do whenever they have a half decent start. But we know how that story will end…
If Tottenham being back is a last minute own goal against 9-men at home, the opponents having a fair goal ruled out for offside, one player gets a debatable red and the other sent off due to a yellow given to an opponent tripping himself up, then so beit.
We keep going.
Unbeaten in the league. Unbeaten in Europe. Unbeaten in domestic cups.
No other top flight English side can say that. On to Lens…
Keenos
We continue to grow our Arsenal inspired shin pads collection…
On the store are some fantastic bespoke artwork shin pads, as well as personalisable kit shin pads
Premier League Vitality Stadium (Dean Court), Kings Park, Bournemouth BH7 7AF Saturday, 30th September 2023. Kick-off time: 3.00pm
(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Ødegaard (c), Declan Rice, Kai Havertz; Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus.
Scorers: Bukayo Saka (17 mins), Martin Ødegaard (44 mins, penalty), Kai Havertz (53 mins, penalty), Ben White (90+3 mins)
Yellow Cards: Kai Havertz Arsenal Possession Percentage: 58%
Referee: Michael Salisbury Assistant Referees: Constantine Hatzidakis, James Mainwaring Fourth Official: Sam Allison VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR David Coote; AVAR Nick Greenhalgh
Attendance: 11,379
We travel to AFC Bournemouth on the south coast today, hoping to make it seven unbeaten matches in a row. Unfortunately, Gabriel Martinelli is not fit to play this afternoon, but Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Leandro Trossard were assessed before the game by our coaching staff to ascertain as to whether they can play today, and all three were passed fit, thankfully.
A very steady start by our chaps (playing in lime green today), but the home side have shown early attacking threats through Marcus Tavernier. Gabriel Jesus slotted a beautiful ball into the path of Kai Havertz, whose left-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area was blocked by a Cherries’ defender, and almost immediately we were in a bit of trouble when a snap Dominic Solanke shot went narrowly wide of David Raya’s post.
After just seventeen minutes, we took the lead when Martin Ødegaard’s superb curling ball into the penalty area was headed back off the woodwork by Gabriel Jesus, with Bukayo Saka the first Arsenal player on hand to pounce onto the rebound to head the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the net for his first away goal in the Premiership this season.
The home side retaliated, with Marcus Tavernier attempting a clever through ball, but Max Aarons was easily caught offside by the linesman. Oleksandr Zinchenko’s superb left-footed shot from the left hand side of the penalty area was saved by goalkeeper Neto, and just after Declan Rice passed an accurate pass into the path of Oleksandr Zinchenko which was saved by the Cherries’ goalie, play was stopped briefly because of an injury to Neto.
Kai Havertz received our first yellow card of the afternoon for a silly foul on Philip Billing, and a few minutes’ later, Eddie Nketiah’s great attempt to score from the centre of the penalty area was blocked by the Bournemouth defence.
Three minutes before the break, Eddie Nketiah was brought down in the penalty area; referee Michael Salisbury pointed to the spot with no hesitation, and our captain easily scored with a left-footed shot to the bottom left-hand corner of the net to double our lead. In injury time, Max Aarons passed a ball to Philip Billing on the edge of our penalty area, but his shot was easily blocked by our defence, and just after a Dominic Solanke effort that wide of David Raya’s post, the referee blew the whistle for the half time hiatus.
Just after the second half started, a clever Bukayo Saka left-footed shot from the right-hand side of the six-yard box was just about saved by Neto in the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, and shortly afterwards, an Oleksandr Zinchenko shot from just outside the penalty area was blocked by the Cherries’ defence.
We were continually pressurising the home side, and just eight minutes after the restart, after a bad Ryan Christie foul on our captain, Kai Havertz scored his first Arsenal goal of the season when he sent Neto the wrong way after striking the penalty kick firmly and accurately to score our third goal of the afternoon.
We were controlling the game really well now, with some excellent dominant play, particularly in the midfield area. With twenty minutes of the game remaining, probably with one eye on the Champions League game against RC Lens on Tuesday evening, Mikel Arteta made a couple of substitutions with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Reiss Nelson replacing Oleksandr Zinchenko and Eddie Nketiah.
The home side were still attempting to score, but every time that any of them get in a position to shoot, one of our defenders was always on hand to block the shot.
With fifteen minutes of the match left to play, Bukayo Saka limped off the pitch with an injury to be replaced by Fábio Vieira, which is extremely concerning, to say the least. Fábio Vieira was immediately in the thick of it, providing a great ball for Gabriel Jesus, whose shot flew past Neto’s post.
With less than ten minutes of the match remaining, Emile Smith-Rowe and Jorginho replaced Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, and still we came forward, hunting for more goals. Reiss Nelson slotted the ball to Emile Smith-Rowe, whose right-footed shot from the centre of the penalty area was saved by Neto in the bottom right-hand corner of the goal.
In the third minute of injury time, we grabbed our fourth goal of the afternoon when Martin Ødegaard crossed the ball for Ben White to head the ball home from a free kick out on the right wing. Just after a superb Emile Smith-Rowe shot that was saved by Neto, referee Michael Salisbury blew his whistle to bring matters to a conclusion.
A very good day at the office indeed. With fifty-eight per cent possession, fifteen shots on goal (eight on target) and four goals, we have not only deserved the victory, but our second place in the Premiership table is well earned, however brief that may be. All in all, a satifactory afternoon, with the only bad point being Bukayo Saka’s injury. Let us hope that it is a minor injury and that he will be back in action soon, but we will have to wait and see for some news from the coaching staff. Well done, chaps.
Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: RC Lens at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Tuesday, 3rd October at 8.00pm(Champions League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.
Steve
Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 