ONE GEORGE GRAHAM

[Nos89]

One of my favourite George moments is that infamous game at Millwall when the ref was mic'd up and after the match George knocks on the door to give the ref a barrel load, enters with the words, " Ref, can I have a word...oohh!" and backs out when he spots the camera...if only....
6 trophies in 9 years, had he had the right support he would've lasted longer than fergie. He bagged two league titles before fergie got one. He was never the same after he sold Rocky, I think he admits that was the hardest thing he had to do.

[Clash]

GG realised my dreams as a young Gooner - first trip to Wembley, first league title etc - after years of being surrounded by little bastards claiming to be Mickeys fans.

26 May 1989 still the finest night ever and unlikely to ever be beaten (unless one day a new owner and manager decide to have a serious crack at the cup with the big ears)

Hero GG

Wow, every bit of that applies to me too. I assume your first trip to Wembley was the 1987 Littlewoods cup final? It may have been old but I loved the Wembley with the terracing at both ends.

With Anfield 89, Graham and his team gave Arsenal supporters the greatest ever moment any English set of fans has ever (or will ever) experience. It was laughable when people were saying Aguero's goal had trumped Thomas' goal. Not even close.

Wenger's era has given us some truly fantastic moments but my absolute favourite memories are all from the Graham era. Those were exciting times. 86/87 is still the most exciting season I can remember because Arsenal winning games, going unbeaten for a long spell, being top and getting talked about in the media was all new to me. I loved those days.

And I totally agree with those who said it was Arsenal that knocked Liverpool off their perch, not Ferguson. The regret with Graham is how it turned sour. Arsenal were poised to be a dominant side throughout the 90s. What a battle that could have been during that whole decade between us and Man United.

Yes mate, '87 was my first Wembley experience and I loved every fucking bit of it. I grew up supporting Arsenal in an era where going to Anfield and winning was a pipedream and where beating them at Wembley in a cup final was the stuff of dreams (was born just after the 71 double). I remember the '78-'80 cup finals but was just a small kid and they felt like isolated examples of success (well '79 anyway) in a mostly barren era. When GG's 87 and 88 teams starting going on long unbeaten runs and scoring 4 away from home etc, I can remember the excitement as it was all new to me and most Gooners

Having said all that the first 8 years of Wenger were amazing - the best football I have ever witnessed an Arsenal side play.....even better than GG's late 80s and early 90s teams

The parallels with Wenger of course is that in the latter years of their reigns both were stubborn to the bone; GG seemingly unwilling or unable to keep pace with the international influx of players and the wealth created by Sky and the PL. Wenger has never got over the new money owners, especially Chelsea, who went against everything he stood for with the 'instant win' culture they created. Unlike Ferguson who embraced both eras, GG and Wenger isolated themselves and stuck to principles that were becoming outdated whilst all around them changed. A great shame on both counts

GG never disrespected cup competitions though and would never send a bunch of squad players and kids out there to be rolled over and even when the football deteriorated I always felt we could beat a big gun against the odds. With Wenger the cups are to be sniffed at, an inconvenience in the quest for 4th place, and whilst times change I'll never forget Charlie's Wembley goals in 1987 and I hope that my kids get to experience something similar one day, rather than grow up to think finishing 4th is the be all and end all

Great post mate. Cant argue with any of that.

I was 5 in 1978 so only very vaguely remember that cup final and the 2 after it. For me, cup final day was the day Arsenal were on TV, although I was too young and impatient to sit through a whole game then. Sadly the first one I saw in full was 1981. But we wont talk about that ...

Another thing with Graham, that might have been mentioned was that for the first 5 years of his reign, he only had 3 competitions to go for. So his 6 trophies in 8 years is all the more impressive for it.

And yeah sunny April afternoon in 1987 is unforgettable. Made all the more memorable due to the WHL games that got us there. Some people don't like to look back too much but for me, football is as much about memories as it is about looking forward. By not taking the cup competitions seriously, we have been denied more memorable occasions to look back on. I cant forgive this policy and those wasted years.

[Chippy]

The memories thing is so true. Even now I can remember the feeling when Charlie George hit that ball in '71!

[Chippy]

BTW that last post is allowed cos stroller tried to nick the equaliser off Eddie Kelly the crunt.

[StuartL]

BTW that last post is allowed cos stroller tried to nick the equaliser off Eddie Kelly the crunt.

Didn't George justify claiming the goal by saying " who would you rather kiss, me or Eddie Kelly "

Think that was a quote that someone else posted on here so credit due to whoever it was.

[Chippy]

BTW that last post is allowed cos stroller tried to nick the equaliser off Eddie Kelly the crunt.

Didn't George justify claiming the goal by saying " who would you rather kiss, me or Eddie Kelly "

Think that was a quote that someone else posted on here so credit due to whoever it was.

In 71 men were men and nobody kissed anyone! Just a polite handshake!

[flash gunner]

Loved GG and would thank him for my best times as an Arsenal fan but can NEVER forgive him for managing the scum

Get over it flash you sound like the scum fans who hated him.They cant get it we love the guy even though he managed them.I dont even think of him as the Spuds manager.He was the manager of Arsenal who gave us our pride back who made players run through brick walls for him.

As Herd said earlier while Anfield was his greatest achievement but that night in Copenhagen was the greatest backs to the wall win in our history.Still our only trophy won on foreign soil.

If Wenger has a statue George should have as well.Never went 2 seasons without winning a trophy just think about that when our players and manager now celebrated 4th like a CL win

Get over it? Fucking hell lets all welcome Cashley with open arms too at least he didn't become a scum *word censored* just a *word censored*!!!!

And a statue for a manager that was done and sacked for effectively stealing from the club, there is more chance of seeing sp*rs winning the European Cup next season

[I Hate Hleb]

Unlike flash I can still forgive George for doing both things, as what he gave us as supporters in return during the majority of his tenure more than makes up for his indiscretions and can never be truly valued highly enough in terms of the feelings of joy and pride they inspired.