Tag Archives: George Graham

The Arsenal and Me – Danny’s Story

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My Mum and Dad were born in Bethnal Green and Stoke Newington respectively and moved out of London to nearby Berkshire in the 60’s. I was born in 1971 into Arsenal blood, When i was very young Liverpool were the big team of that decade, I briefly flirted with them mainly because most of my mates followed them but in 1981 that all changed as i visited Highbury for the very first time, I’ll never forget that day. It was sunny and warm and The Arsenal were playing Crystal Palace, I was 10 and sat in the West Upper, I looked down at the packed North Bank and thought i want to be in there in amongst the noisy swaying masses, I spent the whole game looking at the fans and savouring a London Derby atmosphere, I loved everything about Arsenal, The fantastic Highbury Stadium, The famous Red shirts with White sleeves, The Cannon on the chest. I was hooked.

I went as often as i could after that but still being so young i had to rely on my Dad to take me. I started going regularly in about 86/87 with my older brother and brother in law always standing in the same spot on The North Bank, George Graham arrived and that was the start of a successful new era for The Arsenal after a few barren years. Our 87 Littlewood’s cup victory started off the run of trophy laden years. League titles and success in Europe followed, What a fantastic time to be a Gooner it was mocking my spurs supporting mates season after season. Arsene Wenger arrived and Arsenal continued to dominate English football playing the best football ive ever seen and watching players of the calibre of Bergkamp and Henry week in week out was just Footballing heaven.

I’ve had a season ticket since 2006 after being on the waiting list for 10 years and hardly ever miss a home game, My 3 kids are all Arsenal supporters and will keep the Arsenal supporting family tradition going on for years to come. It’s getting massively expensive now but as long as i can afford it i will continue to go week in week out, what the hell would i do at the weekends if i didn’t, Arsenal is a drug i can’t kick.

Thanks for reading and Up The Gunners!

Danny

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The Arsenal and Me – Hascim’s Story

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I almost became a Chav. I actually thought that Zola was the best player ever to play the beautiful game. I knew about Chelsea players more than the likes of Wright, Lee Dixon, Kevin Campbell, Merson, Bould, Alan Smith, George Graham etc. for the sole reason I grew up surrounded by Chelsea fans and watched some of their matches and only the odd Arsenal game.

It was difficult to watch any Arsenal matches back then. We didn’t have that coverage to such matches easily. You know the technological problems of a 3rd world country like Kenya in the 90s and I was just 5 yrs old then! I had never heard of a mobile phone back then let alone the internet or cable television, imagine! Most of the information about the EPL came from reading the daily newspapers which will be a day or two late!

I only read about The Arsenal signing the likes of Bergkamp, AW, Petit etc. in the papers. I also read about the 1998 double in the papers though I had watched just two matches that campaign one against Southampton I remember! At least I was ten back then and running away from extra tuition and Madrassa classes to just go watch football would earn one a thorough beating.

Good thing though that was a world cup year and everyone watched the world cup. I came to know more about Bergkamp, Petit and Vieira from just watching the world cup matches. We later signed Henry and Davor Suker; Croatia and France top scorers in that tournament. Sadly, I didn’t get to watch them play for The Arsenal as I had now moved to the upper classes and needed to concentrate a lot more on my studies. Thanks goodness I only read about the 6-1 loss to Utd in the papers!

In Feb 2002, I joined a national school in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya for my secondary school education. It was there that I met Ian Kipchirchir, a devoted Gooner and my transformation to a fully pledged Arsenal fan was complete. He sneaked a small portable radio to school and we would listen to the 5 o’clock BBC live commentary every Saturday and the midnight sports news in midweek just to know how The Arsenal had fared. It was risky as it would lead to 2 weeks suspension if we were caught but who cared!

I could now watch more games when I was on holiday or not in school. It was now easy to catch the matches at the local joint as many people now had cable television coverage. I became completely engrossed in football and The Arsenal. I didn’t want to miss a single match. I would stay late into the night or walk long distances just to find a place to watch The Arsenal play. What a team we had then.

The years 1996-2005 were great years. The squad was complete. It was composed of players with great technical ability and just sheer physical strength. It was a great blend of players who complemented one another very well. It didn’t matter whether we lost key players because they were adequately replaced. The desire and passion to win was just vivid and add to it the panache in the overall team play. Winning was the only thing.

The years that followed that very successful period were very difficult as the club underwent many changes. The summer of 2005 saw an overhaul of the squad. The old guard was replaced by unproven precocious players and saw the shift from big, tall players to small, technical players. This came just after the greatest achievement for the club and English football; going the whole season unbeaten and just before moving to the new stadium. I really thought we would dominate English football for years to come after such an achievement. I was wrong…

The approach the club took their after was not the best at least in my opinion. Trophies were replaced by the ‘top four trophy’, returning injured players became LANS which was the biggest flaw in AW’s management in that same period, average players became overpaid, signing quality players became a taboo, the young players would be killed if better and proven players were signed, the cups lost their importance, more players became susceptible to injuries and would be sidelined for longer periods leaving the squad even thinner, change of formation and we started selling our star players without adequate replacements or completely fail to replace them.

In a nutshell the winning mentality was gone. Excuses for poor performances became the order of the day. Most players were average and/or not suitable to play the Wengerball. Players started being played out of position. Same tactics were used regardless of opposition and most players were almost similar to one another with absolutely no squad depth. For eight consecutive seasons our capitulation was just as similar as the season past yet nothing was done about it. Mistakes were never learnt and have never been even this 2013/14 season.

We always dither in the transfer market. Indecision and penny-pinching takes the better of our manager in the transfer window and still refuses to address the glaring problems of the team. 9 seasons since we last won a trophy the squad still has one 2/3 players short more notably a super striker and a proper winger. OG is a good player but we will never win the league with him as our main striker even if he were to stay fit the whole season. By our own standards he is not the best out there. Can we do better? Absolutely…

This season we can win the league but let us not deceive ourselves that this already thin squad can sustain a title challenge. Let 2007/08 be a great lesson. We must sign another striker and he should be better than what we have. Hope we win something this season. The whole team and the fans deserve it.

That said it is easy to brush aside the overseas fan base just because we’ve never stood on the terraces of the North Bank at Highbury nor been to the Grove but we share the same passion. We win we bask in the same glory; we lose we share the same pain and angst. I am Arsenal and always will be…

Hascim

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The Arsenal and Me – Warren’s Story

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A look back at my favourite moment as a gooner.

The 26 May will always be our day. The Mancs would later try and claim it following winning some cheap European bauble but the 26 May 1989 will live forever in Arsenal folklore. The day George Graham’s young Arsenal came of age in the most exciting finish to a season ever despite later claims from Sky. 

The day started with a trip to the high street (Waltham Cross if you’re interested) to stock up on newspapers for the coach trip. Now I had my Arsenal shirt on so expected some banter so was not surprised to recive abuse from a Spurs supporter. The fact he stopped his job of bin emptying to do it gave me a chuckle. 

Papers in hand it was off to the bus station to get the 279 bus to Manor House. Severe traffic (was to be a theme of the day) meant I had to jump off at Seven Sisters and get the underground. I arrived at Highbury with 10 minutes to spare and found an empty seat on coach number 5. It’s at this point I should mention I was travelling alone. The rest of my usual gang had decided to give it miss following the postponement of the original game. But I was soon chatting to those around me. There was a distinct camaraderie amongst those making the trip.

The coaches pulled out and all went well until the mother of all traffic jams on the M1. It was a perfect storm, bank holiday, rail strike, Friday and me desperate to get to a game.

Despite the best efforts our coach driver we pulled into the outskirts of the Liverpool five minutes before the 8:00pm kick off. It was at this point we were joined by a member of the local constabulary. He assured us that due to the traffic problems the kick off had been delayed.

 As we got off the coach at about ten past eight the noises coming from inside Anfield made it obvious the game was in full flow. Cue mass rush to get through the turnstiles. Now given the reason this game had been postponed the fact kick off was not delayed was criminal. The plod who lied on the coach showed the disdain football supporters were held in at the time. We arrived on our corner of the terrace just in time see Uncle Bouldy’s first half header cleared off the line.

You all know how the game panned out so I won’t go over the details again but just give you a few memories that are still strong today.

  •  The chorus of ‘we’re proud of you’ that continued throughout half time. We out sung the Kop all night.
  • Smudger’s header to put us one up.
  • Liverpool players protesting. Thankfully David Hutchinson was calm and strong enough to make the correct decision.
  • Steve McMahon and his one minute shenanigans.
  •  Time seemingly suspended as Mickey Thomas clipped the ball over Grobbelaar.
  • The explosion of joy and relief amongst the travelling Gooners.
  • The relief at the final whistle.
  • Liverpool supporters generously staying behind to acknowledge the new champions.

Now this is the point the night went a bit wrong for me. Thomas scored, I leapt in the air and my glasses launched themselves high into the night sky never to be seen again. Without my glasses (I now wear contacts) I can barely see my hand at the end my arm.

So after watching some blurry objects cavort around the pitch with the league trophy, or so I’m told, I made my way back to coach 5. The trip back was long but happy. I’m told the players coach passed us at one point, but I couldn’t see.

After getting off the coach I made my way to Manor House to get the bus home. At this point I realised I had a problem. Yes I could see the busses but I really couldn’t see the numbers on the front. So a call to Dad at 3:00 in the morning. Fortunately I have a great dad who is a gooner to boot. Once he finished laughing at my predicament he was more than happy to come and get me. And thus ended my greatest day as a Gooner.

Footnote: Many Gooners believe the Press have it in for Arsenal. It’s someting I agree with to an extent and I think it goes back to the 26 May 1989. This was the day Kenny Dalglish’s all conquering side would complete an emotional double having already seen off Everton in the FA Cup final. Unfortunately George and his players had not read the script. And there are many Liverpool based media still bitter about this. Yes Alan Hansen I’m looking at you! Liverpool would win one more title but 26 May 1989 was the beginning of the end of their domination.

Warren

Warren writes a blog for www.notanotherarsenalblog.wordpress.com