Smudger And Spider On 89 – The Film
Nov 9th, 2017 by 'holic
Last night’s world premiere of 89 all provided an opportunity for our expert film reviewer, thank you Lucy Gooner, to catch up with some of those involved in the project. Here is the first part of a two part account of her audience with Smudger and Spider. Lucy has also written an excellent piece with the multi-talented producer, Amy Lawrence, which will feature over the weekend.
Smudger (image courtesy of Organic Publicity)
Alan Smith and David O’Leary! It was great to be able to sit and chat with both ex-Arsenal legends prior to the screening of “89” last night.
Interestingly neither knew who had had the idea of the film and both were called by Amy (Lawrence) around 8 months ago. Neither had seen the film. Smudger had however heard that it ends well! David continued about the time that Amy called.
“They were putting a film together about the match. I thought it was about football then realised that it was to do with everything about the day really. Came down to London, probably did about 4 hours of an interview and as I was getting into where it was being shot GG was just coming out. He’d done about 4 hours in the morning. Hadn’t seen George for a long time and had a quick 10-minute chat. I am looking forward immensely to seeing the film tonight. Everybody says how good it is. I am interested in seeing is it a North London thing or is it something that if you are a football lover would you go and see?”
Smudger added who he feels who would go and see the film. Everybody who is involved in football you would imagine (he was quick to add that maybe Spurs fans wouldn’t quite fancy going!). As he said it’s a fantastic story, and he felt that it’s a story that would appeal to the American market as well because of the underdog triumphs in the last gasp seconds of something so dramatic. He felt that it was well overdue a story to be told. David continued about the actual day…
“I made the mistake of getting out a copy of the game and trying to watch it, but then it’s amazing when Amy was doing the interview how some recollections and things straight away remind you the more you talk the more you remember. I have to say Alan had remembered, I can’t recollect, but it’s come out in a few more interviews, that the team coach going up was jam packed, that every Tom, Dick, and Harry was on it for the day!”
Smudger chipped in, “I think it was like the Directors and the Directors friends, and they were all sat in our seats! That’s my lucky seat” and Spider continued,
“The thing is on the day, it was strange going up on the day. I’d have probably rather gone up the night before, and thought “get up there”. Don’t have the hassle of getting up there. They didn’t want you hanging about.”
Smudger, determined to get the last word in, never easy in the company of the charming O’Leary,
“Normally you would go on the day for a night game but perhaps because this was such a massive game they said do a John Wayne “get in, hit ‘em hard and get back out again! (It) was a phrase of his. He liked to say that, George.”
Then they were questioned about the employment of a back three on the night and had they prepared for such a twist? Smudger got in first,
“We had tried it at Man United at Old Trafford, and I didn’t know at the time that that was with a view to playing at Liverpool. When he tried it at Old Trafford the Liverpool game was a few weeks down the line, then of course Hillsborough happened and it got put back, but he stuck to it. He had something in his head that he felt that that would be the best way.”
Spider, in that unmistakeable rich brogue, revealed,
“We know George, we knew where we stood with him, we knew the training we would do. He stuck to it. He was a hard taskmaster driving you on. When he’d got something stuck in his head this is the way you were going to do it.”
Did they have any notice of that was how they were going to set up at Anfield? Again showing a keen striker’s instinct Smudger revealed,
“Kind of got the impression that that was the way we were set for the season, you know that run in. We knew on the Monday before (laughs!)”
Come back tomorrow night to hear more about the match itself and the team’s poor form leading up to it that set up the nigh-on impossible task. It’s a great read.
89 is available in OurScreen cinemas from 11th November & on DVD & Digital Download from 20th November. See the link to Amazon in the sidebar on the right.
16 Responses to “Smudger And Spider On 89 – The Film”
bring it back
bring it all back
Great interview Lucy.
Can’t wait for the launch of LucyBlog! xXx
You can’t go robbing me of my expert film reviewer, Dubs!
The juices are stirring! I bet the lads that played that night are loving the chance to revisit such a great memory. Bits are unforgettable but then you recollect stuff that had slipped out of your memory .
Smudger was wonderful that night ( and all that season) . His goal and his touch and ball on for Mickey Thomas under that pressure was brilliant.
We never think too much about it but the attitude and conduct of the Liverpool crowd that night was wonderful. After Hillsborough to have the league snatched away was a huge shock but maybe after Hillsborough they had a different perspective? Football wasn’t really a matter of life and death when you’d been through what many of them had. At the end of the game the Kop and all the rest stayed to see us lift the trophy and then clap our lap of honour. Nowadays everybody buggers off if they’ve lost. I have a picture of Wembley in May just after we’ve got the trophy and the Chelsea end is completely deserted. But the Scousers showed great sportsmanship that night. I wasn’t there but my friends who were said their fans were amazingly magnanimous by and large.
sportsmanship?
come on old man
football IS between life and death
not a matter of…
Wonderful insights, yet again, from two more legends! Fabulous Lucy! Thanks! ?
Cheers to you too ‘holic! ?
Can’t wait! ?
No worries Vinay, mate. Just get those “Crackpots” over there to watch the new movie. ?
Or get ‘em to read this https://g.co/kgs/pWVFMV ?
Or watch this https://youtu.be/gGv8S1nqzdk ? ⚽️
Or watch this if into “Rounders” https://youtu.be/uKaldffU02c ? ⚾️
Cynic,
Thanks for PAL/ Ntsc advice in
the last drinks – much appreciated
and I’ll check.
Where is everybody? This is good stuff. ?
Easy to imagine GG would like
John Wayne quotes 🙂
Southgate is a duffer.
Nice interviews.
Smudger was a very underrated leader of the line. Fond memories.
Good point TTG, I can’t imagine today’s crowds being as generous.
The only good publicity is Organic Publicity. Although Free Range Publicity would give it a run for its money.
We’ve not lost Holic! The bar is empty!
cheers ‘holic
?
lucy’s one lucky son of a gooner
Watched the experts and clippings on youtube and boy those are some wonderful memories. Seeing Tony talk, Thomas say it was not because of him but it was because of the team, Smudger saying we always knew we can do it and then George saying that team was all about spirit( sigh) , wonderful to hear and look at these ” men”.
Saw an interview of Piers Morgan( ya interlull makes you do strange things) and he talks about the physicality of our teams against the rest. I know this has been there from the Dna boy time but it feels every season this is getting obvious. We are bullied time to time with no answer. Feels so helpless.
Alan Smith and David O Leary in the same interview talk of how we have become stagnant under Arsene , the same point Lee Dixon made earlier. The sense it we truly have.
last bit of internet ramble- Alexis- Draxler swap in jan? take it now i say.
What’s this about Lucy, a new denizen of the bar? I must have missed something … 😉
Part 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>