Green Gunners Part 2 – A Golden Era
Oct 14th, 2015 by 'holic
The arrival of the sixties coincided with my earliest memories of watching what was already the only team for me (thanks Dad). The Irish influence was increasing. One of those vying for the goalkeeping role was Lurgan born Jack McClelland but after four years, and just 46 appearances, Jack was sold to Fulham. He did accrue six caps for Northern Ireland, subsequently sadly passing away with a brain tumour at just 35.
Invariably in those years Jack would have his international team-mates at full-back in front of him. I have written before of Billy McCullough (Click here to view) and mentioned briefly Jimmy (or Ted) Magill. Jimmy made 131 appearances for the club from 1959-1965 but lost his place when Don Howe was signed from West Bromwich Albion. Frank O’Neill, a young right winger made just two appearances for the club before moving to Shamrock Rovers. He would go on to make 20 appearances for the Republic of Ireland in the next decade.
Terry Neill was destined to captain and manage club and country. In fact at 20 he was the then youngest ever captain of Arsenal in 1962, although it would take a couple of more years before he established himself as a first-choice central defender. Terry skippered the Gunners to their first League Cup Final, a 0-1 defeat by ‘dirty Leeds’ in 1968, but missed the Swindon debacle a year later. After 275 appearances and 10 goals Terry moved to Hull City as player-manager shortly after our European Fairs Cup triumph in 1970. He returned six years later, the youngest manager in Arsenal’s history. After a tricky first year Don Howe was recruited as coach and the pair would lead the Gunners to three FA Cup Finals and a European Cup Winners Cup Final from 1978-1980. After a poor run of results Terry was sacked by Arsenal in 1983, but he will always be fondly remembered as a genial and loquacious man.
When he took over the reins of the club Terry had a full back pairing with whom he was very familiar. Pat Rice and Sammy Nelson were both born in 1949 and both turned professional with the Gunners in 1966, although the latter was originally a left winger when I first saw him in the reserves. Sammy was also a more naturally gifted footballer, but Pat was a tremendously hard worker in training and made the most of his talent.
Pat established himself in the first team in 1970-71, and ended that season a double winner. By the time we lifted the FA Cup against Manchester United in 1979, Pat was the skipper that did the lifting! Capped 49 times by Northern Ireland, one of the more memorable moments of his Gunners career was a sweet strike at Reading in a 1972 FA Cup tie that became known, as a result of Pat’s post-match interview, as a ‘tasty goal’. It was one of twelve he scored in 397 matches in Arsenal colours before he wound up his playing days at Watford from 1980-1984. Pat would earn even more glory at Arsenal as Arsene Wenger’s right hand man. Few have devoted more of themselves to the club.
Sammy too left a lasting memory for those of us who were on the North Bank for a home match against Coventry when Sammy’s own goal put the visitors ahead. Some on the North Bank vented their frustration at him. Sammy being Sammy he made full amends with a late equaliser, ran around behind the North Bank goal and bared his backside at the crowd, and provoked roars of laughter. Make no mistake, the converted winger could play, and he had a fearsome tackle. He scored twelve goals in 339 appearances before the signing of Kenny Sansom prompted a move to Brighton in 1981. Sammy also made 51 appearances for Northern Ireland.
It is fair to say that Pat and Sammy were the start of a golden era of Irish players at Arsenal and it’s equally fair to say they would be the first to accept that the King of that era graduated to the first team in 1973. Liam Brady, with a wand of a left foot, initially formed a partnership with Alan Ball that helped us through a couple of lean seasons before the extremely talented one played a key role in delivering those four Finals under Terry Neill.
Liam left us with many special memories, but two stand out. His curling left-footed strike at White Hart Lane just before Christmas in 1978 had those of us behind that goal on cloud nine. His subsequent celebration in front of the Shelf would only be matched many years later by one Thierry Henry at Highbury. Then at Wembley the following May we had surrendered a seemingly winning two goal lead to two late Manchester United strikes. Exhausted, Liam dribbled the ball into the United half (just to deny them possession fearing a late winner, he admitted afterwards) and slipped a pass into the stride of the overlapping Graham Rix who crossed for Alan Sunderland’s dramatic winner in the five minute Cup Final.
One of the best players in the world, Liam turned down moves abroad for a couple of summers running before finally joining Juve in 1980. Most appreciated he had to go and test himself against the best, who were in Italy at that time. He won two Italian titles before some chancer called Michel Platini arrived to replace him. 59 goals in 307 appearances were just the numbers behind the legacy Liam left as a player at Arsenal. He would return as the head of youth development under Arsene Wenger. He played 72 times for the Republic of Ireland, scoring nine goals.
‘Chippy’ was followed into the first team in 1974 by the seventeen year old David O’Leary. In the season opener at Burnley this spindly kid with the confidence to dribble with the ball out from the back made an unexpected bow. He would be a Gunners regular for most of the next 19 years, making a club record of 722 appearances. He was in the vanguard of cultured, technically advanced central defenders but he could dig in too.
‘Spider’ won League champions medals in 1989 and 1991, was in the side that won the FA Cup in 1979, and also featured in the domestic Cup double side of 1993 (lifting the FA Cup) as well as the League Cup winners of 1987. He won the first of 68 Republic of Ireland caps at Wembley in 1976, and will be remembered for his penalty shoot-out winner against Romania in the 1990 World Cup. He will also be remembered for not following his Republic of Ireland team-mates out of Highbury in the early eighties, when he was clearly coveted by Manchester United, among others.
In 1975 Frank Stapleton found himself in the first team, gradually replacing John Radford alongside Malcolm MacDonald. He was a willing worker across the front line and his aerial ability grew apace. Over the coming six years he would become a very effective leader of the line, scoring the second goal in that 1979 Cup Final. He made 300 appearances for Arsenal with a reasonable return of 108 goals. He almost maintained that strike rate for the Republic, notching 20 goals in 71 appearances.
He would undoubtedly be more fondly remembered but for the manner of his departure from Highbury to Manchester United in the summer of 1981. That he left at all for a club that wasn’t regarded as big as they are today rankled with those who had cheered him on through thick and thin. When a tribunal valued him at just £900k it felt as though the club had been well and truly shafted at a time when the million pound barrier had long been smashed. Hero turned villain, he still provokes angry reactions today.
By complete contrast, the arrival of Pat Jennings from the brown and sticky end of Seven Sisters Road was a remarkable coup by Terry Neill, who had managed the small Middlesex outfit for a couple of years before returning home to the Arsenal hot seat. Northern Ireland’s goalkeeper was 32 and regarded as expendable at the Lane. Arguably Britain’s finest goalkeeper for a decade he would go on to give us eight years of outstanding service, making 327 appearances and also collecting an FA Cup winners medal in 1979. He made 119 appearances for a Northern Ireland side that qualified for just two major tournaments (thanks Davy) in his career. Phenomenal, and a man still appreciated at both ends of the aforementioned road.
The golden era, as such, was at an end, although there would be some moments of hope from the likes of John Devine (111 appearances from 1978-83), Niall Quinn (20 goals in 94 appearances 1983-1990), Steve Morrow (3 goals in 85 from 1987-1997), and George Graham signing Eddie McGoldrick (1 goal in 57 from 1993-96). Then there were the lads that showed varying degree of promise but for whatever reason didn’t quite light the fuse. For the sake of completeness we should acknowledge (appearances in brackets) Jim Harvey (4), Paul Gorman (6), Colin Hill (1 goal in 51), Graham Stack (5), Brian McGovern (1), Graham Barrett (3), Patrick Cregg (1), Anthony Stokes (1), and finally, Conor Henderson (1).
Sorry that turned into something of a long slog, but for that relatively brief spell of time Arsenal owed much to the young men of a green hue. I’m sorry if you expected to read fulsome praise for Terry Mancini, left out on principle as he couldn’t sing the anthem for the first of his five caps for the Republic having spent his life in London since being born in Camden. At least Pat Rice and David O’Leary had spent some time in Ireland! (And no, Kwame Ampadu doesn’t count either!)
So that’s it. Thank goodness I hear you say, but for those born after the seventies don’t feel sorry for those of us approaching our dotage. We saw Liam in the flesh, and what an awesome sight it was.
119 Responses to “Green Gunners Part 2 – A Golden Era”
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no
🙂
On a reread I am aware I have not done Pat Rice justice by not mentioning his coaching career at the club.
Arse! 🙁
Evening cba. Hope all is well?
‘hol
cheers big man
Liam – yer only man
Wot, no Terry Mancini?
😀
Don’t be mischievous Andy 🙂
Magnum opus bonum, maestro!
Arsenal
always my team
fulla paddys
what option was there
manure?
poo?
leeds ?
ARSENAL !
there’s only one
THE MIGHTY ARSENAL
40 years plus some
early/mid 70s my first red and white cocky knowledge
WE ARE THE ARSENAL
*combs over*
Homage to Terry Mancini there, cba?
thats a lie
luxuriant headahair me
?
cheeky dandys
bless ’em
🙂
top man baff
right
15
who’s fer the ton
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=CBRQM0vErH8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R-l2GgSkA6U
Absolutely stunning Holic!
Part 2 outlined all the reasons why I became a fan, especially chippys role in Sunderlands goal in ’79. But it was great to hear some of the other stalwarts to wear the jersey such as Jennings (the only goalkeeper I can remember who had an ability to catch a ball with one hand), O’Leary (very underrated player I felt) and Pat Rice who arguably gave as much and more to the club after he stopped playing. Finally if we could adopt one player and call him a surrogate Irishman it would probably be Keown as both his parents were Irish and in certain moments he had that unique look of madness about him – a trait consistent with some of natives on these shores.
Thanks ever so much for taking the time and effort.
see above
we’re a proud nation let down
sometimes
by drunken arseholes
“d’you spill my pint ?”
“i’ll break yer life”
we talk funny 😉
*lookin at you baff*
*anything de say?*
😉
good night fine gooners
tis for the bed am i
she’s made me egg and sausage
so fuck off
🙂
howdy oskar
.
cheerio for real
Another great read Holic. Very enjoyable.
I think you are right to mention Pat Rice in the drinks. I think we would struggle to find many who have served the club more than Pat. A true Arsenal man.
Chippy was on of those that can genuinely be called world class. A wonderful talent. I bumped into Chippy in a packed pub in Cardiff on FA Cup final day one year. I can’t remember which final it was but it was one of the earlier ones. I remember gaining entry and making my way to the bar. Then I spotted him. That day he was just a normal bloke with his Arsenal scarf on. He was doing what we all do. He was chatting with friends and supping ale. Top player and a top bloke.
A lot of words and not one of them wasted. A bottle of Green Spot for the for the guv’nor. And a crate of Guinness to wash it down with!
Oskar
the irish and northern irish influence on the team in the 70s is probably the main reason i support arsenal. one side of my family is irish and our next door neighbours were of irish extraction as well. arsenal was an obvious choice for london irish in the 1970s. my dad was sympathetic to the arsenal cause but it was my next door neighbour’s dad who started my love affair with the gunners when he took his son and me to highbury in the summer of 1976. i cried uncontrollably when brady left us for juve and one of my most treasured possessions was a pat rice autograph which i got when we bumped into him and his wife at brent cross shopping centre. my memory is somewhat hazy but i’m pretty sure i was at highbury the night sammy nelson dropped his shorts and mooned at the crowd.
howdy oskar, cba? I never said a thing. Are you psychic as well as poetic?
Oskar
*finishes reading the blog and comes up for a breath of fresh air*
*wonders what brought about and ended the stream of productive young irishmen coming to arsenal*
something like swedish tennis players starting with bjorn borg and ending about 20 years later?
Cheers H!
That was a real labour of love mate, and a brilliant read.
Thanks Holic…..a wonderful trip down memory lane. All the effort very worthwhile and much appreciated.
Brilliant, Holic !
That will get at least one re-read later to put it all in perspective.
Liam Brady – imagine him playing on present day surfaces ………
Delighted to read that our Duracell Bunny has responded to the rumours of Real Madrid interest with a pro-Arsenal statement, allegedly.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear. In the week he became a full England international, thereby adding a few million to Burnley’s compo payment, his season ends with a knee injury.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34542231
I wonder if, on recovery, it will be a case of …..
Ings ain’t what he used to be?
I suppose Ings can only get better…
… but these Ings take time
I heard they’ll sign a new srtriker in January who offers them the same qualities he does. They have another Ings coming.
i’m spent
somethINGS are best left to trev The Punerator
dunno how the fucker does it
i suspect he be da divil
🙂
just been out wi the petrol strimmer
wee backyard bitta grass to the side o the house
kneecap high
wwII japanese soldiers skulking in the blades
that’s it for this year though
so thank fuck
.
yer two red and white and green write-ups ‘holic
are gettin the almighty thumbs up from everyone i’ve shown ’em to
the reminiscing is through the roof
cheers again
top man indeed
UP THE ARSENAL
Another wonderful read provoking great memories Holic. Thank you.
There was a lot of hostility to David O’Leary when he came back as manager of Leeds but I hope that is forgotten now. He was a wonderful and loyal servant of our club.
As for Pat Jennings I have met him twice. Briefly at a sporting lunch and then outside the ground before tye 4-4 draw a few years ago. He stopped and chatted, a true gentleman . When he left the Arsenal steward asked me who he was! He was only about twenty five but it showed an appalling gap in his knowledge. He is loved by fans of both Arsenal and Spurs and few others can say that.
One tiny point- was Paul Gorman who made a few appearances in the 80s Irish?
speakin of red and white and green
Esso
last week or so
TOTP old repeat show bbc4 , is it ?
1980
half a dozen punters
jumping around in the crowd
big green shamrock 4 be 2s t-shirts on
guessing it was them or thereabouts
?
m’lud
that steward ?
holy livin’ fuck !
TTG – I once had someone who claimed to be part of an Arsenal fan family for X generations blah blah blah so therefore knew more than me not knowing who Charlie George was.
How I chuckled.
Thanks TTG, yes he was. Another database error.
Afternoon fellow loons. 🙂
big martin keown
holy fuck
the big irish head on im
despite playin for england
he’s like the child who’s the spit
of their father trying to say they’re adopted
big martin is a paddy
but
in the interests of personal safety
i think who he played for
was entirely up to him
Sir
*backs away avoiding eye contact with the death stare*
*THUNDEROUS KNOCK ON DONEGAL DOOR GOES UNANSWERED*
*inhabitant shites self*
*sends the youngest to cry out the letterbox*
*tears prove successful*
*aston martin screeches down road*
“Mess with cba would ye ”
“Big fuckin jessie”
*red brake lights go on*
The AGM didn’t go very well for the Arsenal chairman apparently. He had a lot to say for himself.
It was literally a case of Chips with everything.
😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Z7JMOy6wQ
Ah, Chippy.
How could anyone not fall in love when they first saw that mesmeric left foot?
Those were the days…..
I would’ve cried my eyes out too when he left but they were already crimson red with the drink 😛
Excellent stuff Holic.
Quality, Esso.
i dunno
robbin bastards in my experience
second mortgage fer a packet o salt and vinegar hula hoops
d’ye know the wee plaster cast models o players
found merse
gold tooth painted out
but
scariest of all
a david platt coin
piss-taking gifts probably
should clear out shite more 🙂
or have a memory
Nucleo Armato Bianconero remember Chippy well.
Strozzato (one of the leaders back in the day) got his tattoo on the back (small one) but it is extremely well done.
ahhh
if the closest chip shop
was closer
i’d have a sausage supper
for the walk
wi a chips and curry sauce
for the house
michelin man
hour and a bastardin half
each way
There’s a chippy just around the corner from me but the chips are no good. The good chippy is far enough away to make it a rare visit (15 minutes walk)
i have to wear a hi vis jacket
to go for artery clogging joy
i need a haircut and a feckin sit down
after me bollockin sojourn
wear walking boots now
creepers too bastard expensive
to wear down
i look considerably less cool
but i will not have to employ trev’s professional self
with discombobulated gait
doctor martens
fall apart like fuck
this long an manys a year
yeah
and ye can’t tell the boys from the girls anymore
i’m in me fifties
i’m not a fuckin thousand
?????????
by the way ‘hol
yer last payment
failed to go through
.
sort it sunshine
or i’ll keep drinking
.
and
posting here too
Hahaha 🙂 Thanks cba. You seem to know when I need a laugh ya daft bugger!
Nice one Esso.
Thanks all for your input.
Chips for me tomorrow.
Here goes the tantrum.
Clockwork.
slainte big man
Slainte indeed. Only a cheap blend though. Payday is tomorrow. 🙂
did ye know ‘hol
in the distilled community
some use jack D wood chips
from the diy splurgerama
meant for bbq
to age the neutral spirit
indeed
some speed up the process
by a very quick zap in the microwave
.
.
*hol and baff pass out in horror*
*comes to on floor, rereads 66 and passes out again*
@ 66 sounds like witchcraft to me……
*picks baff’s pochettino*
oooh
feckin loaded fer a jock!
d’ye mug an english person ?
was it yer first communion money ?
ahhh
the big guns are out
howdy dr Z
trust yer well
*RASPBERRY*
🙂
66. That is a 6 short, surely. The very devil at work…
Chips are all well and good but it’s main courses like that that no other blog provides. The effort was well worth it- my compliments to the chef…
*gets out of Keown’s car to blow raspberry at cba*
Having said that I did a brewery tour once, no names no pack drill, and in the mash tun was a sea of teabags.
“Who left those there? Erm, we have to make your beer the right shade of brown, you understand”.
Rasberry?
Fruitcake…..
and very well, thank you very much, ya mad bastard.
.
.
.
*DOUBLE RASPBERRY*
howdy dino
hope things are grand by you
Help! My pocket’s been picked. All the loot from that wealthy fella tabs’ wallet that was going to pay for my Communion party in the bar has gone west!
Yeah cba. I’m all good thanks.
I hope you are in high spirits…
I’m gonna be recording our exploits against Watford so the next time I’ll be watching us in real time will be in the stadium against Bayern. I’m getting quite excited.
I’m looking for early leads on if any Holics will be about?
‘holic
brewing is mad
distilling is madder
end product
yum yum and several pig’s bums
keeps ye alert
on yer toes like
🙂
‘holic
brewing is mad
distilling is madder
end product
yum yum and several pig’s bums
keeps ye alert
on yer toes like
🙂
😉
ahhh tabs
THE ‘holic legend
sorry other legends
but
let’s face it
he’s funnier than the lot of us
Got to add a bit of colour to yer distillate unless it’s vodka, gin or schnapps. However you do it, old sherry casks, burnt oak casks, wood chips or even tea bags.
cba @81, I know for a fact that the loot was really Lars’ money (there was a Mars bar with it).
i double distill
double carbon filter
finest neutral going
tastes like fuck all
that’s whiskey
21st century stylee
poitin stylee
if ye want flavour
buy chips
😉
Hehs above. ?
cba’s grass cutting / strimming. ?
Danny Ings,
All sorts of thIngs
SprIngs to mind,
It’s quite unkind
That
Just as Klopp brIngs
The lad the jersey
To run rIngs round teams
On Mersey – side,
His international wanderIngs
Results in busted hamstrIngs.
Well, ligaments anyway.
Busy day – tired brain. 😉
up the side of a mountain
see-through drink
at some point became
brown and expensive
GSD, Munich. I’ll be around pre-match, as things stand.
howdy trev
top man
i could lie and say
all i’m thinking about
is not the ton
and
spuds and chicken
but
i would be a big fuckin liar
cba@86, that’s because Uncle Farquhar left it for a few months in the old barrel buried under the midden after the Excise called round looking for the still.
After today’s ‘feisty’ board meeting, John Cross reckons Arsene will go in 2017 at the end of this contract.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p035bcmg
Thanks for this ‘Holic. Incidentally, there’s also a decent piece on Arseblog at the moment by Tim Stillman on Gabriel – worth a look….
As for the goings on at Liverpool. Now they’ve lost their gerund (which is a noun made from a verb by adding “-ing”) maybe Klopp could look closer to home to find some-Frings (Torsten) to replace Danny with? I’ll get me coat….
explain scottish or english or irish whiskey
flavoured by american barrels
awww fennn ticcccc innit
i’ll stick to mine
if i want more pretentious notes of peat
i’ll shuffle me chair closer to the fire
94
95
96
97
98
99
Boom
Perfectly weighted ball, cba
Musta had a touch o’ the irish 😉
slainte fella
top strike
Half a century of backdrinking is not easily done on a palm-sized mobile apparatus.
am i alone in being sick of all this green nonsense ?
paddy bastards !
😉
.
COME ON YOU REDS
Did Patrick Vieira chase the snakes out of Ireland? No, but Francis Coquelin will be able to handle the job.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=mF4xtdSdMmY
Top read, ‘Holic. Brought back some good memories. Liam Brady was indeed world class.
Once saw another one who was world-class, Pat Jennings, score a goal in a charity match. Big boot from his own area. One bounce over the head of the opposing keeper, and in.
fantastic read
Couldn’t do justice to Brady yesterday. One of my three all time favourite players with Pires and Joe Baker. He was brilliant and although he had an understandable desire to leave, if the club had pushed the boat out to keep him we could have won the League. We came third to Villa and Ipswich the season after he left. There was a lack of ambition in the club then and things changed when David Dein joined the Board. I have many great Brady memories but a particular one was at QPR in the season before they put in their plastic pitch. It had rained all day and the pitch was unplayable but Brady skated over it like a magician and scored a great individual goal which just slithered over the line. I remember a delicious nutmeg in front of the North Bank in a Cup Tie and I remember in the Juventus semi- final when Tardelli flattened him and was sent off as he rose to his feet he winked at Rix ‘ Job done’! He’d finally convinced the referee to send a dirty fouler off. He was well- equipped to play in Italian football and did incredibly well there.
He was one- footed but look at the second goal scored in the Man U cup final win. A right foot cross picking out Stapleton at the far post . Perfection.
I see him at the Emirates a lot. He doesn’t look like someone who was a footballing genius but appearances can be deceptive. He was a wonderful player.
Nice tribute TTG. I remember seeing him playing for us in the 5-a-sides about 15 years ago. A bit of a beer gut and no pace any more but that left foot still worked its magic. Head and shoulders above everyone else playing.
Good stuff, TTG.
I struggle to put a fag paper between Brady, Bergkamp, Henry and Pires. And for different reasons between Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira.
When push comes to shove I seem to settle on Liam and Dennis, and then Tony Adams.
Fortunate enough to have seen all of them at their best.
Afternoon chaps and chapesses, Off to the battle in five. Suspect a minimum of a five pint preview tonight. 🙂
Good evenIngs to you all 🙂
Great news about Bayern, H. I’ve got the day off so I should be in the Tolly in plenty of time. Not that it does me any good beyond the company, of course.
Anyone else around for it?
I’ll look forwards to the five pinter in the meantime. I dunno how appreciated it will be across the interweb though. Some people wouldn’t know a quality five pinter if you spent five pints explaining it to ’em.
Bunch of Ingrates.
I just watched the Gabriel interviews on .com. There was an amusing moment when I switched to full-screen and the sound skipped at the perfect moment to say ‘humble begin… (short pause) INGS’.
I found them excellent. Extremely honest and humble interviews. Frankly, I was touched. I wish him all the best in life and even more so while he wears our colours.
He wants to become one of the best defenders in the world. With an attitude like his I won’t be betting against him…
bt8 @ 105 – If you believe the dressing room rumours, Vieira took his own snake with him wherever he went.
am loving the excuse for dewey eyed reminiscences
as if ye need one
anyhoo
UP THE ARSENAL
O FUCKIN YES
?
Cynic @115. His one mistake was in not painting it red and white. 😉
me?
i’d plump for liam and dennis
shivers down the spine geniuses
the oul stupid nonsense
of
“how could ye pick yer favourite child”
houls no water wi me
“I’M FECKIN LOOKIN AT YOU CBA JUNIOR + 1
YA WEE SKITTER
TAKE THAT SHOE OUTTA YER SISTERS EAR
AND BEHAVE”
dreamy bob does get a nod
but
its a tough world
and its about time
he learned about rejection
might force him
to make somethin of his life
lazy sod
how bastard long is it
since he flat-footed his genius
around the town
xactly!
idle !
feckin idol
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>