From Brendan : Recollections
Hi Myles,
Your recollections on how you started with ANR got me started on the nostalgia..
In 1996, I was in my mid-twenties, coming out the other side of a bit of a rock’n’roll / student haze.
Living in North London, trying to do ‘normal’ as much as possible, playing park football, going out in Camden, but not all night, watching Father Ted.
My passion/obsession for football as a child was overturned as a teenager by rock’n’roll and other distractions.
Then somehow in North London in the mid-to-late 90s, it came back to me. True, I was in North London (I had been at University south of the river) and every second person I met was a gooner.
I’d never stopped being an Arsenal fan, nominally, but now, suddenly, it all started kicking back.
Then this French guy came along – I was keen on the French, having spent a lot of time there – my first ‘proper’ girlfriend was French – and I became interested again.
Football gave me something to be passionate about, to take my frustrations out on, to give me a centre. I think you’ll understand why that’s important to someone who’s been through the rock’n’roll mill!!
And boy, did we have something to be passionate about.
The 1997-8 season was to me the greatest as an Arsenal fan, irrespective of the ‘Invincibles’ season. The balance in that team was really amazing and Bergkamp at his peak, Parlour still running around with twice the puff of anyone else on the pitch.
Overmars’ Man U winner, Anelka’s stunning pace.. I could go on. Until now, no season has ever topped it. Maybe one will.. we’ll see.
France 98.. more glorious times for Arsenal fans.
In fact I’d always had that affinity for the French national team from the 82 World Cup and the 84 Euros.
From the Quarter Final against Italy, with Djorkaeff’s penalty, I knew France would win it.
I went out and bet on it, I was so convinced. I watched France-Croatia with three Brits who were all (predictably) supporting Croatia. And I watched Lilian Thuram playing the game of his life and the game of the tournament. I’ll never stop being amazed by that! Yours in nostalgia!!
Myles says:
If Anelka had played for France in 1998, Arsenal would have lost him sooner.
I’m sure Wenger told Aime Jacquet that Anelka wasn’t ready.
And maybe he wasn’t.
Lilian Thuram was phenomenal in that game. Colossal.
I still remember Thuram paired with Cannavaro at Parma. Remarkably, he went through a whole a season without a yellow card. Asked how he did that, his reply was,”If I don’t think I can get the ball, I don’t tackle.”
’98 still means a helluva lot to France’s immigrants cos it was the sons of immigrants wot won it.