Tag Archives: Arsenal FC

The Arsenal and Me – Peter’s Story

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Last Saturday morning I was privileged to be amongst so many wonderful Gooner fans on the AwayBoyz boat up the Thames. What a wonderful experience and one I’m so glad I did not miss. I didn’t go to the game though as I had to get back home to Wales. On the boat staring out onto the Thames my thoughts went back to when I was a very young kid and travelled to away games whenever my mum, God Bless her, could afford to let me and my elder brother go.

Travelling away in the 50’s and early 60’s was not easy. No motorways and slow steam hauled trains. Most fans travelled as part of the Arsenal Supporters Club. My brother and I always travelled by the Club coaches. I loved going to the games North of the Midlands. Manchester, Blackpool, Bolton, Newcastle etc. Would cost about 12/6 to 15/- depending on distance.

The coaches left Highbury Corner at the back of the old entrance tube station about 10.30pm on a Friday night. It was generally all the old faces that turned up! I was always the youngest on the coach. Gradually all the fans would turn up wearing their colours etc with rattles in hand. All optimistic but not over the top optimism!

There was always a guy on board called Fred. He always went. My brother and I always made sure we sat well away from him as he always drank a bottle of whisky during the journey!

We’d set off going up the Holloway Road in good voice with a few choruses of the Arsenal song set to the tune of Anchors Aweigh! The roads would be almost empty except for the occasional lorry. I tried to stay awake as I loved just watching us go through the many towns and small villages en route.

About 3am we’d stop at a transport cafe to have a break and a cup of tea etc for about 30mins. Generally this was about Newcastle under Lyme area.

Eventually would fall asleep and wake up as it was getting light and you could sense you were ooop north with all the Mills etc easily seen. The odd looking coloured buses. Men walking to work with their flat caps on. Just like a Lowry painting depicts.

We’d get to our destination about 8am. The driver always knew where to take us for breakfast. Never ever forget those! Full old English- northern style. Big mugs of tea. Fried bread etc.

About 9am we’d wander to the ground wherever we were playing. Nothing much to do in those days! Pubs didn’t open till 11am. Someone would always bring a ball along and we’d all go along to the nearest bit of open land and have a match between ourselves. I used to really love this being young and enthusiastic, and a decent player. My favourite players then were Derek Tappscott and Danny Clapton. Danny was a winger and had a unique way of going past a full back- dropping his shoulder etc. I used to practice doing this during our match pretending I was Danny! We’d put coats down for goalposts etc.

Just approaching 11am the older ones drifted off to the nearest pub to the ground. My brother was about 16 and I was about 9 or 10. We’d have to sit outside with our lemonade and bags of crisps! Never bothered us as many came outside with us anyway. The friendly banter with the locals would then start. Their accents then used to amaze me! “Are you ooop for game lad” they’d say. “You’re wasting your time lad thars in for a thrashing!” Generally they were always right!(sadly).

About 1pm we’d all go to nearest chippy for our lunch! How I looked forward to that. Proper fish and chips cooked in beef dripping!
We would be close to the stadium by now and all the programme sellers would be out and, of course, the rosette sellers. “Wear your colours!” they’d be shouting!

Time to go into the ground. Not that many fans travelled away to league games. We would meet up with the ones who travelled by train in the ground and start our singing and chanting and making noise with our rattles. 2-4-6-8 who do we appreciate etc. Fairly mild stuff compared to those songs on the boat to Fulham!!!!

There used to be a legendary Arsenal supporter named David Stacey. He wore a red and white dinner suit with top and hat and tails in red and white. Mascots etc could walk around the pitch in those days. He carried a big board which read — We Arsenal Supporters say “may the best team win!” Can you really imagine that happening today! When he reached us we’d all just cheer and rattle our rattles and give a few choruses of the Arsenal song then. He then walked all the way around the ground showing the banner to the applause of the home fans! Much respect amongst fans then.

The match to me really passed me by! I remember more about events leading up to and after that have stuck in my memory. We normally always lost or drew.

On one occasion at a Cup game away to Man Utd the fog came down and the game called off just before 3pm. I remember being so disappointed. The Man Utd supporters club invited all us coach travellers back to their club and entertained us before our coaches left Manchester Piccadilly about 10.30pm for London and home.

Normally got back home about about 7.30am Sunday morning after being dropped of at Drayton Park along the Holloway Road..

I really really miss those days.

regards to you all,

Peter

PS.
The Arsenal song we sang then to the tune of Anchors Aweigh!:-

Send Arsenal down the field for one more goal,
No other teams can fight than the boys in red and white.
Never let their Glory fade
long may it glow
So let us all sing out with
Up The Gunners!
Up the Gunners!!!
GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mmmm Such happy happy memories. Will share a few more old stories another time.

The transfer window and Tottenham, a week of fear…

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The priorities at the start of every football season is two fold, firstly beating that lot up the road every time we play them and secondly finishing above them in the league which is something we have managed to do more or less all of my adult life (1993 doesn’t count as we did the cup double). That’s just how it should be, normal order but there is always the fear of losing to them, which is one reason why I always hate the week coming up to playing them.

I’m still upset over that semi in 1991, ok the 1993 and 2001 semi finals have more than made up for that day but we should of done the double that season and if it wasn’t for one fluked defeat away to Chelsea (pre-roman when they were skint and shit) we should also of gone unbeaten that season as well. Every loss to that lot from Middlesex hurts and I can only imagine how that lot must feel with us having the bragging rights over them for the best part of 20 odd years.

This season we have an early chance of getting one over on them, we have a chance of stopping the constant drivel they come out with at the start of every season. The gap is closing, they have signed some top players, this year is the year they will over take us, blah blah bloody blah.

But in the back of my mind there is another fear this week, the fear that yet again the club will let us down in the transfer market. We could and can speak all day and night over whose fault the lack of spending is, some blame Mr Wenger, some blame our current American custodian but one thing is for sure nobody believed Ivan Gazidis when he said this year we would spend big. This was his usual lies and spin to sell season tickets and from what I have been told Club Level has the lowest take up since we moved from our home to that bowl, another fail from him.

The one bright side of this transfer window is we do not have to look over our shoulder from other clubs buying our star players for either their personal greed or the clubs profits as they are all gone. Sadly they haven’t been replaced for like for like and everyone and their dog knows where the current squad are lacking and the club have 5 days left to dust off the blankly blank cheque book and pen and do the business. I really don’t know what I fear the most, us losing to the scum on Sunday or the club yet again not spending and us yet again missing out on challenging for trophies

Hold tight, its going to be a rollercoaster of a week…..

GC

And now onto Tottenham (without Bale)

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So that is that out of the way then. Another comfortable victory in the Champions League qualifiers see’s us into the main draw for the umpteenth consecutive time (it’s too late to Google and see how many. I think its 16 though?). Any doubt, of which there was a lot, was removed after the 3-0 lead in the 1st tie. And the game was secured with 2 brilliant goals from Aaron ‘The General’ Ramsey at the Emirates last night. And with that out of the way, we can concentrate on what will be one of our most important games of the season.

The visit of Tottenham Hotspur.

That lot up the Seven Sisters Road genuinely think they have a chance this year. In fact, they genuinely though that they have had a chance for the last four years ever since Robbie Keane said in 2009:

“I think it’s certainly even and if you look at the squads, I think that our bench is probably a little bit stronger than theirs at the moment.”

Well Robbie, once again the Tottenham bench might be better than that of The Arsenal’s, but it is the 1st 11 that counts. And like in every year of the last 18 (or is it now 19), Tottenham will be in our shadow. Yes, they might have spent big – over £60 million, but this is not the first season they have outspent Arsenal. In fact, in the last 10 years, Tottenham have spent nearly £200,000,000 more on players then Arsenal. And this is not nett spend, but gross spend.

It is not what you spend, it is how you spend it, and Spurs have a history of not spending it well. And their current crop, as previously discussed, are not as good as their big price tags might indicate. Anyone, enough of the bitching about that lot.

At the end of the day, as long as we play to the best of our ability, we should be beating that lot. Aaron Ramsey is running the midfield. Santi Cazorla now seems to of got fully fit. As has Jack Wilshire. And whilst Theo Walcott might not of yet shone, he already has 2 assists in 4 games.

Spurs meanwhile, started their last game with those prestigious ‘young’ talents Danny Rose (23) and Andros Townshend (any relation to Pete?). Yes, young Danny might have once scored a screamer against us, but so did David Bentley. And that was his career peak. I am sure Danny won’t go on to too many better things.

What it is about The Derby is the pride, the passion, the buzzing. There is no better game out their then derby. No matter the ‘mocking’, it is a cup final. Even if you become Champions, losing twice (or evening losing one and drawing the other) means that you will still be on the other end of some poor banter. It means so much. And a 4pm kick off on a Sunday. Let’s hope the game is the only thing that kicks off.

On a side note, it seems OK for Sky TV/BT Sport to move a game from a Saturday early game to Sunday 4pm for TV, despite the police originally moving it for ‘safety grounds’ but when it comes to there being no trains to get home (Sunderland/Swansea) things will not budge. But that’s for another blog.

But back to the derby. I am sitting here. It is Wednesday. 4 days to go. And I am already buzzing. The anticipation will only increase. Bring on Super Sunday. Bring on Tottenham.

Keenos

Ps: How small a club must Spurs be if there best player go’s ‘on strike’ to leave? That is so 2011.