Tag Archives: Highbury

The Arsenal and Me – Jools’ Story

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So where do I start? I was born the day before Arsenal beat Liverpool in the 1950 Cup Final, an omen? Well my love affair started back as a nine year old back in 1958/9 season. I was born in Stepney but most of my mates were Spurs fans. The first game I remember was a 2-1 defeat up at Sunderland in the FA Cup. Over the next couple of seasons leading up to 1960/61 I endured my mates gloating at the all conquering Spurs team beating all before them and the double. Little knowing that they would not do it again,still all these years later! Haha. I read all I could about the Arsenal glory days of the 30s period and was mesmerised by the rich history, the marble halls of Highbury and ended up being a walking Arsenal facts kid! Lets face it, it was better to live in the past as the present team then was awful! Not a bad attack, but a terrible leaky defence, propped up by the amazing Jack Kelsey coming to the end of his career. I first saw Jack playing against Man City and in nets for them? The late great Bert Trautmann.

Early 1960s we had McGill and McCullough in defence, tried their best, but to be honest we were bad! We had a superb natural goalscorer in David Herd who scored goals for fun and probably kept us alive in Division One for many a season. Ironically Herd started a trend of our top goalscorers being sold to Manchester United over the years..unfortunately…Herd, then Stapleton, then RVP a bad trend.

We moved on and had a very cultured player in George Eastham and signed another prolific centre forward in Joe Baker from Torino. Joe was short for a centre forward, scored bags of goals full of heart and my favourite image was him squaring up to big Ron Yeats in the Cup at Highbury who was about a foot taller!

We drifted through the early seasons of the 60s I managed to get to a few away games Blackpool against a young Alan Ball. Both Manchester teams, Liverpool after they were promoted. Arsenal appointed Billy Wright as a manager, may have been a great player but awful as a manager. I remember the demonstrations outside Highbury and the burning effigy of him on the Avnell Road.

I actually was one of the 4,500 approx attendance v Leeds at Highbury mid week to see us lose 3-0 I think. Still I think the lowest ever attendance for a top flight game in England. Wright got the push and we got various managers in Don Howe, Terry Neill. We were still a mid table side. I started to go to more away matches…our cup defeat at Peterborough (a newish team in the league!) I went to places like Bolton, Shrewsbury, Cardiff, Swansea( Town then) at the Veitch Field. Along with fellow fans we hitch hiked to places like Newcastle, drinking in their supporters club, was totally pissed and just propped up on the terraces at St James Park, did not even remember the match!

Chased around Leeds by their fans for burning a Leeds scarf we “borrowed” got away on a train to Bradford by the skin of our teeth! During the 60s our ongoing relationship with Glasgow Rangers usually had us playing each other at the beginning of a season in a friendly alternate years at Highbury and Ibrox. A few of us decided to hitch hike to Glasgow for the game! We split up into twos and set out early Friday evening! We managed to get to Glasgow for 8.00am Saturday morning.

We got to Ibrox outside the ground for 9am and whilst walking around looking at the impressive stadium a guy pulled up in a car. Came up and chatted to us, will never forget it, he was the Rangers manager at the time, was so impressed we had hiked up for a friendly, he gave us a full tour of the stadium, showed us the amazing trophy room and gave us tickets for the main stand!

We drew 2-2 amazing atmosphere and we set back that evening. Took us a lot longer to get back, ended up sleeping in a brick kiln in a wheelbarrow outside Carlisle. Did not get back home till Monday morning and my Dad had reported me missing to the Old Bill !! I got a right hiding! I had already been in trouble the end of the last season for going to Burnley despite recovering from chicken pox!

Things were starting to change at The Arsenal the seeds of a good side were germinating and Bertie Mee was moving on up! Two Cup finals stick in my mind, we lost to Swindon Town 3-1 a 3rd Division team in the League Cup Final at Wembley. We were naturally heavy favourites but to be honest they ran us ragged in the mud with their flying winger Don Rogers causing havoc. I remember being in a daze all the way back from Wembley and sitting in The Gunners staring into my beer in a state of shock! The other side of the coin was our amazing come back against Anderlecht in the two legged Inter Cities Cup Final ( UEFA Cup ) we lost in Belgium 1-3 and turned it around 3-0 at Highbury! The place was rocking! George Armstrong our talented winger ran them ragged, our first trophy since the early 50s! Talking of Highbury rocking, who remembers the mid week derby v Spurs during the mid 60s? Ended 4-4 68,000 inside the ground and an estimated 30 plus thousand locked out!

Bertie Mee was the turning point for The Arsenal along with Don Howe’s zonal system they invoked an amazing spirit and assembled a superb side which flowered in 1971. What a team, Radford, Kennedy, Simpson Storey Mcnab, Graham and Tick Tock McLintock to name a few. You played 42 games a season then, no subs, plenty of hard men about and we mixed it with any one but still had the skills to beat the best. That night when Ray Kennedy soared in the lights at the Lane to win the title was unforgettable, the atmosphere was electric. Somewhere on the net is a clear pic of me celebrating on the pitch! We went on to see Darling Charlie put the Scousers to the sword at Wembley, our first double, think we even won the Youth Cup that week! Was an amazing season!
Over the next few seasons we scrapped with Leeds on and off the pitch haha. By the late 70s I was working at the Daily Express offices in Manchester. We got to the final v Ipswich 1978 and the then editor of the Sunday Express promised me a ticket for the match which he delivered! I was over the moon, got down to the match, red/white scarf on, entered Wembley, looked around and to my horrow was surrounded by a sea of blue and white! I was in the Ipswich end!! To be honest the Tractor Boys were fine, good humoured, found it funny and we shared a drink, maybe them winning helped!

As you know two more final followed Manchester United and West Ham, . Could not get tickets but i had fun winding Man United fan neighbour pre the 79 final. Imagine his surprise when he opened his lounge curtains one morning to find a full size Newspaper Poster “Arsenal for the Cup!” staring in on him! He took his time taking it down, not realising the same poster was facing outwards!

As we drifted through the 80s the appointment of Stroller was perfect, he assembled a disciplined (on the field) side, stuck up for his team and showed he was an Arsenal man through and through. If anyone has not watched Fever Pitch, just watch it! Again we were hard to beat and 1989 Anfield showed the true grit and determination of our side. Who were the best? 1971, 1989, 2004, ??? all different scenarios so I prefer to give them equal status!

Rioch was not an Arsenal man but I would always remember him for one thing signing Dennis Bergkamp a true genius!

Wenger?? When he came a breath of fresh air, very innovative, but now?? Maybe we need a change again! His best side the Invincibles, I have a signed framed away shirt, Bergkamp, Henry,Pires,Ljungberg and Gilberto which I treasure.

Favourite players over the years? Baker, McLintock, Graham,Brady, Radford, Kennedy, Adams, George,Viera, Petit, Bergkamp, Overmars,Wright,Storey, MacDonald to name just a few! So many more.

I could go on and on, hope I have not bored you all …too much. UP THE ARSENAL !!!!

Jools
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Defeat and Rain Fail to Dampen Arsenal Spirits

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Despite a home defeat and torrential rain to great the homeward bound fans, the spirit of The Arsenal was certainly not dampened last night, with fans walking under Highbury House in high spirits.

Borussia Dortmund were last years Champions League runners-up and one of the best rated teams were always going to be a tough draw. However Arsenal performed admirably on the night and only lost due to going for the win, conceding on the break to Dortmund’s only shot of the 2nd half.

Whilst it was a negative result, it was a fairly positive performance as Arsenal proved they could compete with one of the best attacking sides in Europe, restricting a side who had scored 22 league goals this season to hardly any shots, and 2 goals, one of which was a poor error by Ramsey, the second on the break.

Arsenal played some brilliant football at times, with Rosicky, Cazorla and Ozil brightening the second half. We once again lacked a bit of pace going forward, and you have to think had either Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain or Podolski been playing, we would have got that second goal.

The group is now extremely tight and you have to think it is most likely that we go to Napoli in the last game level on points with the Italian side, meaning they need to beat us to progress ahead.

On a side night, the German side’s fans certainly won the battle of the fans, however, I did wonder a few times about how manufactured and choreographed they were. With a drummer and 3 orchestral conductors, they lack the spontaneity of a proper away end. The conductors seem to be the norm in Europe, I have never been a fan of them and wonder whether being told when to sign and clap is really that good?

Moving forward to Saturday, we face Crystal Palace. We need to ensure that we get back on the horse and win again. The last time we lost to a German side at home, we entered a negative spiral, according to Andre Villas-Boas. If we enter the same negative spiral now, things will continue looking good for The Arsenal.

On a final thought, if you were one of the fans who got on the back of the side at the final whistle, shame on you. You do not deserve any of the future success we will have.

Keenos

HIGHBURY CLASSICS – VOLUME 1 ARSENAL v NORWICH – NOVEMBER 1989

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Not since 1934-35 have Arsenal successfully defended the league title and the 1989-90 effort didn’t come close to changing that stat. By May we had fallen well short to the eventual winners Liverpool; a club who nobody at the time would have possibly imagined would go at least 24 years without repeating that success.
Worst of all about 1989-90 was that we would end up in 4th, one place behind a Tottenham side who had improved since the signing of Gary Lineker (though it’s worth noting that we still finished nine places above Manchester United).
Despite not being a vintage season, there were still some good times such as Tony Adams’s volley into the corner of the net that beat Tottenham 1-0 at Highbury. There was also the 2-1 victory against Glasgow Rangers at Ibrox in the Battle of Britain ‘friendly’ (we of course could not play in the European Cup because of the five year ban on English clubs).

If one match stood out as the most dramatic of the season then it was ‘Fireworks Day’ against Norwich City in November 1989. Proceedings started off on polite and civil terms as David O’Leary came on to the pitch and was applauded by both sets of players. He was making his 622nd appearance for the club which was, and still is, a record breaker.
At the tail end of the previous season Arsenal had put five in against Norwich without reply on route to being crowned champions. It was one of many severe beatings handed out over the years which contradicted the myth that Arsenal played negative football. This time in the November to Remember, City would not go down so easy and by halftime they were 2-0 up.Malcom Allen had scored a close range header from a corner and then Phillips doubled the lead with a great free kick from 25 yards. Before the free kick had been taken, tensions and tempers had flared up that would come to a boiling point by the end of the game. Malcom Allen who had won the free kick, was dragged along the ground and then roughly picked up by an angrier than normal O’Leary, who accused him of going down easy (Allen did indeed go down easy – O’Leary easily hacked his legs and sent him flying).

The game changed in the second half when Niall Quinn scored from close range after a Kevin Richardson free kick was saved by Brian Gunn. Then we were awarded a penalty when future Gunner Andy Linighan handled inside the box. Surprisingly, Lee Dixon stepped up to take the kick. This was a first and most unexpected – Lee Dixon our first choice penalty taker – since when?
In a decisive and confident fashion Dixon put the ball straight down the middle and we were level. Disaster – Norwich went 3-2 ahead. Lukic saved a long range header from Linighan only for Tim Sherwood to put the rebound into the top of the net.
A loss would have overshadowed a day of celebration for an Arsenal legend. O’Leary was a class act in defence and was talented enough to have moved on and represented more successful European sides during the early to mid 1980s when Arsenal were mediocre. He had shown us loyalty and stayed because he loved the club, and on his record appearance O’Leary scored a rare goal to make it 3-3. A cross was put in the box by Winterburn and the Irishman headed past Brian Gunn in front of the North Bank.
That was the icing on the cake – the man of the day O’ Leary had saved us from defeat and we would go home happy. More icing – in the dying seconds, Michael Thomas was brought down in the box by Butterworth and another penalty was given by referee George Tyson. Dixon stepped up again to take the kick. I can’t speak for the rest of the crowd, but I remember not being at all confident that our right back would score two penalties in one game. Dixon shot and missed – but in a day of rebounded goals he managed to stud the ball past Gunn and it slowly crossed the line. We went ballistic as did the players – both sets of players as it turned out. A fight broke out in the goal net: as Alan Smith followed the ball passed the line he was jumped on by three yellow shirts. Smith being the one player in the red and white who couldn’t and never did want a row was set upon. But he was in a team that wouldn’t allow such liberties to go unopposed. Rocky Rocastle once said of the squad “We didn’t start fights but we finished them.” Within seconds, players from both sides were involved in a confrontation that would go on to dominate the back pages for the next week.

Not one punch was thrown, just a bit of pushing and shoving along with one kick from a Norwich player. And despite having not been the side to start the ‘brawl’ the media hacks laid into Arsenal and we were labelled the villains. In 1989 Saint and Greasvie were TV’s most prominent pundits and were a bit more pragmatic over what had happened. Coming from a rougher era, they noted that the incident was no worse than “scuffles in the January sales” but they did criticize the referee for handing out two controversial penalties which they blamed for starting the row.
In general, there was mass hysteria and the back pages carried headlines such as ‘Fireworks’ and ‘disgrace’. It’s important to remember that earlier in 1989; the media’s hatred for Arsenal resulted in one prominent Tabloid’s back page carrying the image of Tony Adams with donkey ears in what was a needless insult. Back then, rival fans and the tabloid media despised Arsenal far more than now. But that was all good fun as it bought a sense of togetherness among the fans and the players. We didn’t care about what they thought, but we would be made to pay the price. The result of such press fury would go on to cost us two points the following season. And that’s another story….

Matthew Bazell

Matthew Bazell is the author of Theatre of Silence: The Lost Soul of Football

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