Tag Archives: Tottenham

The Arsenal and Me – Mo’s Story

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I have lots of memories: the good ,the bad ,the ugly and the downright scary from my 40 years of following Arsenal! There is just too much to cram into one blog, so I will recall the 70s and the start of the 80s, my formative years at Arsenal!

For those of today’s generation,eight years and all that without a trophy, well that was “de rigour” in the 70s. I was a junior schoolboy in 71 and older brothers plonked me down at the front of the north bank in the double winning run. I remember the 1-0 wins at home to the Geordie’s and the last home game 1-0 against Stoke! I watched the FA Cup Final around an affluent family friends house who had colour TV.We were still radio rentalliing a black and white when we won our next trophy in 79! Yes an eight year gap!

I was free of older brothers guardianship and could head down on my own in the mid 70s. The team had gone downhill,a double team broken up far too soon! But,I had the misfortune of going to games,a bare teen, a quiet one in a maelstrom of an era of football violence.

Excited to see Arsenal in a FA Cup QF at home against West Ham in 1975 I entered the North Bank on a day of horrendous rain to hear “Bubbles” from the back of the North Bank,as West Ham took over that day!I was at angry at what happened off the pitch as the losing 2-0 on the pitch.

Next season, we beat West Ham 6-1, but that day was equally naughty! And as for Tottenham Hotspur…things weren’t much better. I still have a mental picture of a typical y** as being much older ,wearing a donkey jacket and a peak cap! We were bad on the pitch, but they were worse and we saw them relegated in 76!!

By 77/78,things were stirring at Highbury. The team were improving ,the mercurial Liam Brady was emerging as a world class player,O’Leary at the back and the signing of Pat Jennings, the Tottenham keeper, proved a cute bit of business!

We had a team to have a go in the Cups. Off the pitch things were also stirring. A young generation, ages 14-16 emerged in the Clockend, a kind of football intifada was emerging. The lads had enough of getting bullied by older Chas and Daves and Garnets! The young ones would cut their in the mayhem of 70s away games. I went to Ipswich, Norwich and Bristol City that season. I was a quiet bystander in mayhem at every turn,

In 78,we reached a league cup semi over two legs against Liverpool.Liverpool were in their pomp. Dalglish at his peak as a player. My oldest brother took me to the first leg at Anfield.

To be continued…

Mo

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I don’t care about Tottenham, lets care about Arsenal

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During the West Bromwich Albion game, news filtered through about the Tottenham results. Firstly it was 0-1. Then 0-2. Then finally 0-3. People were getting excited. Some were even signing songs about it. But I stood there motionless. I did not care. Because here is the thing, when Arsenal are playing, there is only 1 result I care about, and that is Arsenal’s.

I was actually getting angry during the game, as fans sang about Spurs losing, laughed at their score and were happy about the way things were. At the time, Arsenal were drawing 1-1, we did not have 3 points in the bag, yet rather the support our side, cheer them to victory, we were too concerned with the Tottenham result. And that is not right.

For me, as much as I hate Tottenham, I do not care for their results. We are not trying to catch them, we are not trying to pull away, we are ahead. We are in the title race, they are looking at top 4. Yes, if it was 10 games to go and we were close, I would care, but that is not the case. For now, I am more concerned about the results of Manchester City and Liverpool, our competitors for the league title.

So what I ask all fans, whilst Arsenal are playing, lets ignore that lot up the Road. When Arsenal are playing, lets concentrate on the boys in red and white. If Tottenham lose, that is a bonus, but the most important result is Arsenal winning. That is all we should care about.

We cheer us to victory, nothing else maters. Let’s forget about Spurs and concentrate on The Arsenal.

ps:

How does it feel to be Tottenham
How does it feel to be small
You sold Bale
We signed Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil, Mesut Ozil

Keenos

The Arsenal and Me – Nordi’s Story

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“It’s life, and every emotion you go through, I have gone through with The Arsenal”

First love

Lived on the Avenell Road it was the first real thing I saw as a kid people horses stadium songs lights, the colours the noise so it was that and my metal tonka truck.

Trouble

I first fell in trouble loving my club aged 9 and my brother aged 6 in a shared garden on Riversdale road off the Blackstock Road , the neighbours knocked on my mums door and told her to go and listen to your kids and she did, both of us copying the north bank “YOUR GONNA GET YOUR FUCKING HEAD KICKED IN” and “Your’e going home in funny ambulance” and the classic “The manky Tottenham Hotspur went home to the dope and this is FUCK OFF” – we didn’t get the right words till a few year later when Mum had enough and let me make the short journey on my own.

Happy

My two kids birth come first, well not quite true. First was the 1987 season and at the shit hole after years of following arsenal was pure ecstasy and 89 was LSD, ecstasy, hash, blow job’s and Samantha Fox’s tits on my face all at the same time. I could not make Anfield, one of the few games I missed in the 80s, but when that goal went in I ran around the pool table in the pub like a headless chicken onto Essex Road and dropped to my knees stopping the traffic.

Sadness

The passing of Rocky upset me big time. It was like losing a few school pals that passed away. Also losing Denton was extremely upsetting. MR Arsenal. If it was not for him and many others who ran with him, my dad would never have gone into the ground as football back then had many racists and I was the good looking son of a foreigner.

Learning

How to conduct yourself? I honestly can say hand on heart I learned more from the North Bank than I did at school or mucking about on the streets. You see the local schools and streets had the same Herbert’s where as the North Bank would have lads from Enfield, Essex, Burnt Oak, Surrey even fucking loyals from Telford. The music, the clothes, the jokes clubs, the girls and even a bit of politics, not much mind. Also travelling the country seeing at first hand the destruction of Liverpool in the early 80s and then the destruction of mining communities, no internet or mobile phones back then so all the learning was done through the eyes and actual experience so thank you Arsenal.

Religion/Cult

It was Arsenal and it was my job to recruit/encourage as many Gooners to come in to the holy ground from Highbury Grove School. Another memory that I will take to the grave is when we took 50 odd to Brighton and nearly 80 of us met for a home game against West Ham and similar numbers for Liverpool, marching off from Highbury Corner. The jokes the laughs.

Addiction

Aged 12 or 13 I made enough money to buy a ticket for West Brom away. Train, fare, can of coke and a packet of biscuits. Off I went without telling my parents, came back at 9 at night to massive slap from the old man and banned from going. Yeah right! I did not miss a home game for years after. Like many of us, I was such a sweet boy until arsenal came along.

I could go on and on but it’s everything and still is, my love has let me down big time, changing the badge, fucking about with the kits, pricing out fans and then driving out passionate fans through their Gestapo stewarding. The horrible grassing service,the sit down brigade, and then the killer – moving to the concrete bowl hurt more than I can describe. I joined the BSM in 2009 and through this passionate group, I felt like we have a voice again. I don’t want to hurt the club, but I feel like kicking them in the bollox every now and then “say wake up”. Don’t turn into a day tripper tourist venue or you will break many hearts and in the long term you will regret it.

Like the late 70s and early 80s I’m dreaming and looking forward to Dortmund where an old School turn out will be drinking and singing in praise of the Arsenal. You are my arsenal

Nordi

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