What was it like under George Graham?
Re: What was it like under George Graham?
Solid. You'd never see us defend as bad as we do now, even in our harder times under GG.
Also, the players played with more pride and character than they do at the moment.
The club felt more real then, it was traditional. Pretty much everything was different to what it is now, wouldn't know where to start.
Also, the players played with more pride and character than they do at the moment.
The club felt more real then, it was traditional. Pretty much everything was different to what it is now, wouldn't know where to start.
Re: What was it like under George Graham?
Looking back at both their tenures, I would say we over achieved under GG, but have under achieved under Wenger, I would base this on the players they both had at their disposal. Wenger's failure to win the clge during the DB, TH, RP, PV era was a damning indictment of his lack of tactical awareness.
Also his failure to retain the plge, despite having a squad imo far superior to utd's, once again down to Fergie being a far better motivator and tactician.
Under GG we probably didn't have the best squad, yet still won 2 titles and a European trophy, due to GG being a fantastic motivator and tactician.
Also his failure to retain the plge, despite having a squad imo far superior to utd's, once again down to Fergie being a far better motivator and tactician.
Under GG we probably didn't have the best squad, yet still won 2 titles and a European trophy, due to GG being a fantastic motivator and tactician.
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Re: What was it like under George Graham?
I remember that benfica game at home, we got totally walloped after drawing in lisbon. It wasn't so much the score but they way they totally outplayed us. Isais was unplayable.Bradywasking wrote:I hope Arsenal's history is kind to Graham , his departure was a sour and sad end to a mostly brilliant tenure. As said by the other posters Graham's end was coming anyway. He had lost the control and power that made him the manager and winner he had previously been.
To me the defining moment of Graham's reign at Arsenal was the Benfica home defeat in the old European Cup in 1991. I think George wanted more than anything to win the European cup but that nigh showed how far in reality not just Arsenal but English football had fallen behind the rest of Europe. When we won the league in 1991 we believed (well I did ) that winning the European Cup was a natural progression, the horrible reality was exposed by Benfica or more accurately by arsenal in the second round. We were not ready, not good enough and Kevin Campbell in reality was never going to terrify Europe's elite. After that defeat Graham became even more paranoid about defence. We had a collection of central defenders at that time and that was before squad rotation and before we bought Keown for his second stint at Highbury.
Having said that the run in for that 1991-92 season saw Arsenal play some unbelievable attacking football, scoring quality goals at will . The Wrexham defeat was another blow in that season.
When he arrived he was a breath of fresh air, we challenged for the title for a while in his first season and he lead us to a Littlewoods Cup triumph at the expense of Liverpool and Ian Rush's record of never having lost when he scored. The second season was pretty much the same except we lost the Littlewoods Cup Final..a defeat from the jaws of victory. Ask any Arsenal or football fan from the 80's about Luton Town and stand back and wait for a barrage of insults. They were everything I hated at the time..plastic pitch, horrible stadium, no away fans and worse of all Steve Foster.
Unlike present day defeat actually stirred Arsenal on to rectify mistakes and the following year saw the title at Highbury. George was being viewed now as a top manager. 1989-90 saw us fail to retain the title but for me 1990-91 was George's finest achievement. We only lost one league game ,at Chelsea, and got to a FA Cup semi final. There was the docking of two points following the Old Trafford brawl (24 years later I am still adamant that Denis Irwin was the main instigator of that ) George came into his own in the wake of the docking of the points and he inspired Arsenal with what was described by some as A Churchillian speech. The loss of his captain only further galvanised his squad.
After Benfica we became a Cup team and they were brilliant days and nights. 1993 saw revenge on Spurs at Wembley in the FA Cup semi and a double Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday in the two domestic cups. 1994 saw that night in Copenhagen where in my opinion Steve Bould had his finest game in an Arsenal shirt. The run to that final was based on absorbing pressure and nicking a goal.. "1-0 to the Arsenal " was born.
That was Graham's last full season in charge and in reality from early the following season it was obvious things were not right. We were losing games and while they were not the humiliations of the present day there seemed to be no ideas how to stop the rot. For many Graham had reached the end , he no longer ruled the dressing room. Suddenly Arsenal were on the front pages of the papers with Drug problems for one of the big players and suddenly financial allegations against the manager himself. History will tell that this was Graham's downfall but the league form and a dreadful home defeat against Milwall in a cup replay would suggest the writing was on the wall anyway.
It was a sad and inglorious end to a man who had honestly put pride back in the Arsenal shirt. he moved out egos and replaced them with kids that would have died for him and the club. Regardless of his finish his reign was fantastic for Arsenal If history could be re-written I would have George saying at his post match press conference in Copenhagen 1994.."that's it lads I'm off, this is all I can do for this club".
Also remember 92 goals scored in 92 as the video was titled!
Re: What was it like under George Graham?
REB wrote:just one thing to say for GG,
he gave us back our pride.
And this just about sums it up for me too

People will always refer to the trophies that we won and that is understandable but for me it was more about how we revolutionised the club from tip to toe. As others have said, we were a once big club that was drifting along and going nowhere fast but he changed all that - firstly he changed attitudes within the club and changed the mindset of the players by reminding them of their responsibilies and who they were representing. People might dismiss the point about making the players wear club jackets etc but to me it indicated a change in attitudes and made us look more professional and focused. It gave the club and the squad an aura and opposition players and managers were very aware of it and were very aware of the perception that The Arsenal was a club that was above everyone else in stature and class. I will always remember the comment from the twitcher when he referred to the fact that our club sent flowers to either his mother or fathers funeral, and he commented that gestures like that were what set our club apart from the rest.
Before GG arrived those standards and that attitude had been allowed to drop amongst the playing staff but he changed that - it was a different era (and it probably would not have worked in todays game) but he made the players very aware of how lucky they were to play for an institution like The Arsenal. He also instilled a fierce closely knit ethos within the squad - the whole world doesnt like us but we dont fcuking care. If other teams fcuked with us then they would regret it as the pitch battles with norwich and manure will testify

Of course all the things that he brought to the club may not have worked without the trophies that we won under him. Our players and other teams knew that if we took the lead then in more cases than not, we were going to win and you cannot overestimate the effect that had on the opposition. Nobody knew how to nullify an opposition team better than GG
For me GG will always be No.1 and it is a feeling that I held even in the early successful wenker years. It broke my heart the way he was sacked by the club and he will always be a hero of mine, bungs or no bungs
- rodders999
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Re: What was it like under George Graham?
QuartzGooner wrote: On the one hand he signed a fantastic striker in Ian Wright in 1991.
One the other, he packed midfield with not very creative players such as Hillier, Morrow, Pates, Selley, McGoldrick and Limpar.
You should actually be given a life time ban for lumping Sir Anders in with that shower, Qaurtz OUT

[Quartz Note: It was a typo, obviously Limpar was one of our creative players, have amended my post.]
Re: What was it like under George Graham?
Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
Some good days, some bad days.
Main problem towards the end was a criminally uncreative midfield ; playing centre halves in the middle was a particular favourite of GGs : Keown, Pates etc all played a handful of games there.
I remember the first away game I ever went to outside London ; we lost 2-1 to a rotten Leicester team at Filbert St ; the team clearly needed investment and at the end the travelling fans were singing 'Georgie, get the chequebook out'
Some things never.....etc etc
Some good days, some bad days.
Main problem towards the end was a criminally uncreative midfield ; playing centre halves in the middle was a particular favourite of GGs : Keown, Pates etc all played a handful of games there.
I remember the first away game I ever went to outside London ; we lost 2-1 to a rotten Leicester team at Filbert St ; the team clearly needed investment and at the end the travelling fans were singing 'Georgie, get the chequebook out'
Some things never.....etc etc
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Re: What was it like under George Graham?
Others have covered this really well, some great memories.
He made me proud to be a Gooner and gave the fans some unbelievable memories such as; our greatest night ever in 1989, add to that nearly going unbeaten in the league in '91, the cup double in '93 and the CWC in '94 where every man and his dog expected Parma to batter us.
We had some wonderful players too who could both play and mix it when it mattered. It all unravelled and ended badly but pound-for-pound I think Graham's achievements match Wenger's as the last decade completely sullies the latter's footballing reputation.
It's hard to explain just how fucking dominant Liverpool were back then, before the backpass law was changed, so to "knock them off their perch" at Anfield in 1989 was the stuff of legends.
He made me proud to be a Gooner and gave the fans some unbelievable memories such as; our greatest night ever in 1989, add to that nearly going unbeaten in the league in '91, the cup double in '93 and the CWC in '94 where every man and his dog expected Parma to batter us.
We had some wonderful players too who could both play and mix it when it mattered. It all unravelled and ended badly but pound-for-pound I think Graham's achievements match Wenger's as the last decade completely sullies the latter's footballing reputation.
It's hard to explain just how fucking dominant Liverpool were back then, before the backpass law was changed, so to "knock them off their perch" at Anfield in 1989 was the stuff of legends.
Re: What was it like under George Graham?
When he first arrived he had the Don Howe 'boring Arsenal' tag to shake off and was never given the credit that was due for some of the most excitement football around between 1987 and 1992.nut flush gooner wrote:They said GG's teams where boring, but the reality was we had bags of talent. Merse, Marwood, Rocky, Limpar, Wrighty, Davis.
They also had spirit and fight in them, went toe to toe with manure at OT in 1991.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebSRjIBxFNE#t=100
These vids should be shown to the current crop of pansies.
The post '92 stuff was absolutely fucking terrible though, as boring as anything served up under Howe and Neill. The difference was that it still brought us trophies and major cup finals - two domestic cups in 1993 (Morrow even managed a cup final goal !), 94 in Copenhagen, and that sly ex-Scummer bastard denying us the repeat in 1995. But remember the flip side was over 38 games we were shit and ended up as a mid-table side when he left
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Re: What was it like under George Graham?
I think in about 50 years time his era will be looked at more fondly than Wenger's.
GG won 7 trophies over 9 years
AW has won so far 7 trophies over 18 years
I can imagine young Arsenal supporters of the future thinking how the fuck was that Wenger allowed to stay so long
GG won 7 trophies over 9 years
AW has won so far 7 trophies over 18 years
I can imagine young Arsenal supporters of the future thinking how the fuck was that Wenger allowed to stay so long

Re: What was it like under George Graham?
It felt like OUR club still then,Highbury was still pretty accessable to us normal fans,the players were approachable,GG knew what Arsenal meant to the fans and made sure the players knew what playing for Arsenal meant,apart from still loving the club I first saw in 78 I feel I have no affinity with the current Arsenal,It wasn't all great under GG,but days like Wembley 87 v Liverpool and then Anfield 89 were stuff of legend.topcat wrote:Solid. You'd never see us defend as bad as we do now, even in our harder times under GG.
Also, the players played with more pride and character than they do at the moment.
The club felt more real then, it was traditional. Pretty much everything was different to what it is now, wouldn't know where to start.
Re: What was it like under George Graham?
Davis was quality,so under-rated,I thought Stefan Schwartz was decent too..nut flush gooner wrote:They said GG's teams where boring, but the reality was we had bags of talent. Merse, Marwood, Rocky, Limpar, Wrighty, Davis.
They also had spirit and fight in them, went toe to toe with manure at OT in 1991.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebSRjIBxFNE#t=100
These vids should be shown to the current crop of pansies.
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Re: What was it like under George Graham?
i break GG into two halves too :
first 45 - pre wright, defensively solid, a little cavalier, goals from anywhere.
2nd 45 - after wright, defensively solid, a little dour and careful, goals from wrighty.
wrighty didn't really play well in a 'team' role, and campbell, cole, quinn etc didn't enjoy playing with him.
but he was such a fantastic talent, he really could score from anywhere and he had pace and a lethal finish, plus he had 100% commitment on the pitch.
we became a harder to beat team, but not a better one to watch, or as successful in the league.
GG gave wenger the platform to succeed - the Famous Five, plus Keown and Parlour.
in retrospect, with the addition of Bergkamp, plus the purchase of Paddy & Anelka, its no wonder it only took wenger a full season to win the league.
it not a coincidence perhaps that the last title we won in 2004 had Parlour and Paddy in midfield, and Keown in the squad either.
the last 10 years certainly lead to doubts about Wengers role in actually managing the team in 1998-2004's success.
first 45 - pre wright, defensively solid, a little cavalier, goals from anywhere.
2nd 45 - after wright, defensively solid, a little dour and careful, goals from wrighty.
wrighty didn't really play well in a 'team' role, and campbell, cole, quinn etc didn't enjoy playing with him.
but he was such a fantastic talent, he really could score from anywhere and he had pace and a lethal finish, plus he had 100% commitment on the pitch.
we became a harder to beat team, but not a better one to watch, or as successful in the league.
GG gave wenger the platform to succeed - the Famous Five, plus Keown and Parlour.
in retrospect, with the addition of Bergkamp, plus the purchase of Paddy & Anelka, its no wonder it only took wenger a full season to win the league.
it not a coincidence perhaps that the last title we won in 2004 had Parlour and Paddy in midfield, and Keown in the squad either.
the last 10 years certainly lead to doubts about Wengers role in actually managing the team in 1998-2004's success.
- DB10GOONER
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Re: What was it like under George Graham?
Unfortunately that football world is mostly dead and gone. We now have The Modern Football Brand; the global game, marketing, mercenary players, players marketing their "personalities" on Twatter, fans that change club, player power, agent influence, and money money money.robbo10 wrote:It felt like OUR club still then,Highbury was still pretty accessable to us normal fans,the players were approachable,GG knew what Arsenal meant to the fans and made sure the players knew what playing for Arsenal meant,apart from still loving the club I first saw in 78 I feel I have no affinity with the current Arsenal,It wasn't all great under GG,but days like Wembley 87 v Liverpool and then Anfield 89 were stuff of legend.topcat wrote:Solid. You'd never see us defend as bad as we do now, even in our harder times under GG.
Also, the players played with more pride and character than they do at the moment.
The club felt more real then, it was traditional. Pretty much everything was different to what it is now, wouldn't know where to start.

Mostly a load of fucking shit in other words.

- Perryashburtongroves
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Re: What was it like under George Graham?
The days from the 1987 League Cup win until his final season were mostly good- very good. He had turned us from a sleep-walking club into title challengers in very little time. We might not always have been the most attractive of teams but you knew the players would put the effort in, that they cared for the club and that they would give any team a good run for their money. There also seemed to be a close relationship between club, players and supporters then and although there was criticism for players from time to time, the team were very well liked by the fans-both as players and people too.
Under GG, we were the ones that other teams were worried about. We were hard to beat, very tough, willing to get stuck in and fight and you could never count us out. These were the days when we were dangerous as the underdogs. From what you read now, Graham worked hard, spent a long time working on different teams' strengths and weaknesses and would instil in the players a sense of belief that they could beat anyone. We did suffer some horrible defeats under him in cup games but you knew he would make the players aware of it and that he wouldn't tolerate another shit performance- unlike today.
By his last season, it was becoming clearer that he was losing touch with the game at the time and that his manner and style of management was going out of fashion. He wasn't totally wonderful in the transfer market but did bring in players like Seaman, Smith, Marwood, Dixon, Bould, Winterburn and Wright who would each go on to bring success to the club. I think, overall, that there was a much higher price put on playing for the club under GG and that he demanded focus, fight and determination. He won the league twice, once at Anfield on THAT night and then two years later with only one defeat. He was apparently very interested in the history of the club and the traditions which were all part of The Arsenal. Under him, you knew that the players would have a damn good go, wouldn't back down and knew what Arsenal was all about.
Under GG, we were the ones that other teams were worried about. We were hard to beat, very tough, willing to get stuck in and fight and you could never count us out. These were the days when we were dangerous as the underdogs. From what you read now, Graham worked hard, spent a long time working on different teams' strengths and weaknesses and would instil in the players a sense of belief that they could beat anyone. We did suffer some horrible defeats under him in cup games but you knew he would make the players aware of it and that he wouldn't tolerate another shit performance- unlike today.
By his last season, it was becoming clearer that he was losing touch with the game at the time and that his manner and style of management was going out of fashion. He wasn't totally wonderful in the transfer market but did bring in players like Seaman, Smith, Marwood, Dixon, Bould, Winterburn and Wright who would each go on to bring success to the club. I think, overall, that there was a much higher price put on playing for the club under GG and that he demanded focus, fight and determination. He won the league twice, once at Anfield on THAT night and then two years later with only one defeat. He was apparently very interested in the history of the club and the traditions which were all part of The Arsenal. Under him, you knew that the players would have a damn good go, wouldn't back down and knew what Arsenal was all about.
- greengooner
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Re: What was it like under George Graham?
GG gave us something we never expected..success, it was a magical time to be a gooner, for so long we had languished in the mid table section of the league, too good to go down but too average to win anything but then Gadaffi landed and it all changed. I'm turning 45 this month so have seen it all in footballing terms and the Graham era was without doubt the most enjoyable football years of my gooner life. I remember a cup tie with a then dominant Liverpool at Anfield when we played them off the pitch, a rocky goal securing a draw when we deserved a win, a sign of things to come, the league cup victory over the same team started us on the road to an eventual title, again at Anfield...unbelievable memories still vivid in my mind. I still remember every single result from the 89 title year, every goal, every scorer, this from a man who has to think about his kids birthdays
, Smith against villa, rocky against the same team, Thomas late goal against the scum, practise for Anfield!, so many goals so many happy memories. GG was Arsenal during those years, he never forgot who he represented and made sure his players never forgot, I can even forgive him his brief tenure at the swamp, a decision I feel was clouded by his feelings of bitterness towards the then board of Arsenal.
Modern day Arsenal cannot not compete with the GG years, it's different now...I'm different now I suppose, spoilt millionaire kids do not appeal to me as much as grizzled old pros of the late 80's who drank as hard as they played

Modern day Arsenal cannot not compete with the GG years, it's different now...I'm different now I suppose, spoilt millionaire kids do not appeal to me as much as grizzled old pros of the late 80's who drank as hard as they played