Old Gunners and Gooners : Champions of Britain.

In case anyone forgot.

The Squad.

Anti - Arsenal Media as usual.

Season 1989-90.

Expectations were running high after Arsenal became Champions last season.

On 29th July they retained the Makita Cup by beating Liverpool.

Arsenal vs Independiente in Miami.

No - I wasn’t in.

A workmate was on holiday there at the time.

Match ticket.

Rocky scores from a penalty.

Looks like my’79 Cup Final hat was there.

On the 6th August they beat Independiente of Argentina in Miami 2-1 with Rocky scoring twice.

Charity Shield.

On 12th August they lost the Charity Shield match vs Liverpool 1-0.

League.

On 19th August Arsenal started their League campaign with a 4-1 defeat at Man Utd.

After playing 4 games in 21 days, including a trip to Florida, no wonder!!

The season carried on the same way as despite winning most home games, Arsenal lost their away matches at both of the other main title challengers, Everton 3-0 & Liverpool 1-0.

Mickey Thomas scores at the Lane.

My last visit.

Arsenal even lost at the Lane 2-1 and judging by their fans reaction, you’d have thought it was the World Cup Final.

Unbeknown to me, this was to be my last visit to the Lane, as new restrictions were going to be introduced for away supporters after the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster.

I remember getting hit on the head by a coin thrown from the Shelf and Spooky was crying with laughter.

At Xmas he sent me a card with a 10p piece inside and wrote “I told you they’re a 2 bob outfit”.

All Seater Stadiums coming.

League Cup.

In the League Cup Arsenal beat Plymouth & Liverpool before losing 3-1 at Oldham.

The game at Oldham was the coldest game I ever attended.

Due to some trouble beforehand, the local bus drivers refused to return to pick up Arsenal Fans after the game.

No problem, a couple of regular busses were hijacked and diverted to the railway station instead.

Another disaster I attended.

Ice Station Zebra.

Unofficial Champions of Britain.

Due to the ban on English teams competing in Europe after the Hysel tragedy, Arsenal were invited by the Scottish Champions, Glasgow Rangers, to play a game against them at Ibrox.

Arsenal Fans were banned from travelling by the Government and apparently, Arsenal turned down their allocation of tickets. A few managed to get there though.

I’m in.

Granty had a cunning plan!! so we were in!!

He had a contact in Glasgow who’d ordered a new car from one of our mates dealerships.

So, he offered to deliver it in person, with me as a passenger, and asked his contact to buy 2 tickets for the game for us.

We drove up and arrived the day before the game.

We took the car to the customer and after showing us around his stables, he used to let handicapped kids sit on the donkeys and ponies as part of their therapy, he told us our tickets were with the Rangers supporting landlord of the “Hecklar Arms” in Drumchapel.

Granty hears the teams from the horse’s mouth.

The line ups.

For those who haven’t been there, Drumchapel is the sort of place where they all have scars on their faces, and that’s just the women.

After getting our tickets and downing a pint or 2 we then went to meet Granty’s old workmate who’d recently retired up there.

He was in his local in Duntocher and as it was December, they were having the Old Age Pensioners Xmas dinner.

There was a singer getting everyone to join in singing all the old folk songs.

He then went around the bar and everyone had to sing a solo.

Now, Granty and myself only knew one traditional song, Nellie Dean, so obviously when it’s his turn, that’s what Granty sings.

Then the bloke sticks the microphone in my face and asks the “Cockney boy” to sing a song, PANIC!!

I can only think of one other song and I managed to sing the first line of “Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner”, before Granty’s mate bundled me out of the door, saying “you can’t sing that up here”.

I returned minutes later to find everyone laughing about it, and spent a lovely evening with them.

A Merry “Glaswegian” Xmas.

Ibrox Park.

The next day we go to the game and discover that our seats are in the middle of the Main Stand.

We’re sitting there minding our own business, when a kid leans over and asks me to get the signature of the bloke in front, on a programme.

It turns out the bloke is Ally McCoist and he smiles when he hears my accent and signs his autograph.

Good job it wasn’t Tommy Docherty!!

Arsenal win 2-1 and are declared Champions of Britain, unofficially.

FA Cup

In the FA Cup Arsenal beat Stoke Away 1-0 and then beat Liverpool before losing to QPR in a replay.

The Stoke game was memorable only for JC - Putney - Spooky deciding to eat in a Littlewoods store before the game.

When they go in the cafeteria, the set menu is pie, chips & peas.

JC tells the waitress that he wants 2 pies, because he always has “Double, Double when he’s in a pie ‘n’ mash shop”.

She says he’s got to have the set menu containing one pie.

So he orders 4 set dinners and when they arrive takes the spare pie of one and puts it on his plate.

Apparently, all the people eating their dinners couldn’t believe that someone would pay the full dinner price for only one pie and they’re all muttering and staring at him.

It makes sense to me!!

Some more away tickets in the League.

Cold & Boring.

QPR.

Possibly the wettest I’ve ever got at a match.

I had puddles in my coat pockets.

Apart from this being Arsenal’s 70th consecutive season in Division One, nothing much else happened and it was a bit of an anti climax after the previous season.

Then Germany win the World Cup.