Reporters used to see George after games, sometimes at Colney, occasionally when he’d talk to three or four of us off the record. But I did three interviews with him in his office and was lined up to do a fourth when he was sacked. So I interviewed Stewart Houston in George’s office with 4 Sampdoria videos on the manager’s desk.
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In late July Arsenal will be jetting 13,000 miles down to South Africa for the first time since 1964.
On that long-forgotten trip the club played five friendlies and hotshot Joe Baker, the Ian Wright of the Sixties, scored nine of their 26 goals in games against scratch elevens representing Natal, Orange Free State and other provinces.
“The main reason we’re going again is finance,” admits Gunners boss George Graham, who took over Baker’s No 9 shirt in 1966.
” We’re getting tremendous finance to play three games there. After the ban was lifted in South Africa, agents were queueing up to offer deals over there. It’s a good opportunity. We’ve got a few black players, the majority of the audience over there is black, and it’s a nice experience. I’ve never been to South Africa, and I’d like to go there.”
Arsenal will play two games in Johannesburg against Manchester United and Orlando Pirates, and then go to Durban to play the Kaizer Chiefs, a club Crystal Palace visited last season.
“This tour was fixed up a long time before United they won the title, and before we won the FA Cup. Looking back now, I’d prefer just to play them in the Charity Shield. And I’m sure Alec and United would say the same . But it was already part of the agreement made a while ago.”
Graham readily concedes that last season was the worst his side has played in the league since he became manager in 1986. “We were very inconsistent, with too many good players not coming anywhere near their capabilities, and yet we managed to raise it in the cup competitions. We’ve won two out of the three trophies with me personally- and I’ll admit it- playing with a below-par midfield. I don’t cry from the rooftops about the inadequacies of the team at Arsenal because I don’t think that’s the way you do things. I think we’ve got a very strong defence, and a very dangerous forward line, and what we haven’t done is bridge the gap between the two. And I admit that. But in the process we’ve won two trophies, knowing we’re not as strong as we should be. ”
How will this season be different?
“I’m gonna look for the consistency that we’re famed for. I was criticised last year for not paying Limpar, because the previous end of the season we went 17 games undefeated. We were scintillating. We played fabulous football with two wingers. At the start of the season I was expecting the same form but we were playing 4-4-2 with both wide players attacking but not dropping off again to defend. So we were playing almost 4-2-4 and getting slaughtered in midfield.
“And that’s where Manchester United were superb last season. Their two wingers were superb in attack, but they put their work-rate in. You’ve got to have your work-rate in English football. Certain games recently have proved the point : talent alone is not enough. I watch Italian football a lot and see world class players working hard. Just because you’re talented it should not absolve you of doing basic work.
“I hope to retain the ball a lot longer than we have been doing, and pass it about more. We’ll be working on it, I hope the players accept it, I’m sure they will. But it is difficult. It’s easy for people to sit back and say : Arsenal should pass the ball a lot more. There are certain teams who pass the ball, but don’t go anywhere. We can be a bit more patient. I think we can get an extra pass , or two passes, in our play generally.
“We can open up teams a bit more with an extra pass, or two passes.And I’ll be looking for that this year.How people can say we hit long balls all the time when we have two full backs who love pushing forward? I don’t want us to get the reputation of some teams – and I’m not going to name them – who pass the ball to death, and don’t go anywhere.”
In ’92-93 half a dozen players started under-achieving on the same scale as Charlie Nicholas, Steve Williams and others did before Graham took over. Suprisingly, Anders Limpar, who is exactly the kind of gifted but erratic individualist he would have cleared out if the Swede had been there in 1986, is being given another chance.
“I’m looking for a better season from a lot of players. I’m looking for more consistency from Paul Merson.I’m looking for a much much improved season from Alan Smith. I’m looking for a great improvement in attitude from Anders. And a bit more maturity from younger players like David Hillier, who after the ’91 championship year, slipped back.
“We’re well off for defenders, and we’ve got good youngsters coming through in Selley and Parlour. I had a chat with John Jensen. He’s a very honest boy. It’s the first time he’s ever played without a mid-season break, and I brought him back at the right time for the FA Cup Final. I don’t think we got credit for that, myself or John. And the thing is, there isn’t an abundance of outstanding midfield talent available. We need a top drawer midfield player. And I mean top, top drawer.”
If you could get Andy Townsend for £1 million now, would you take him at 30?
“Well, I wouldn’t get him at a million. I tried to get Andy twice before, and for some reason best known to himself he didn’t want to come. I think he regrets it now. But it worries me : why didn’t he want to come?”
You were about 25 goals short last season. How can you find another 25 goals in 42 Premier League games?
“Very easily. We’ve found them in previous season, and we’ve got arguably better forwards now. I think our talented players have got to perform more often. Paul Merson, Limpar, Smith and Campbell are all honest lads, and I think they would all hold their hands up and say that they could do a lot better than they did last season.”
George says his five England lads will start pre-season training on the same day – July 12th – as the rest of the squad.
“It’s something that I’ve thought about, and the more I read, and the more I discuss it with other people, the more I think they need a basic fitness level before games. Many players think the rest is better for them, but if they miss out on their basic running pre-season, they find it very difficult, like John Barnes last year, to catch up. If you get your basic running done, and your stamina work in, before the season starts, you’ll be OK. It’s just an opinion, I may be wrong.”
Meanwhile, the Highbury production line is still producing wannabe stars. The latest is Paul Dickov, a stocky 21-year old Glaswegian who is mustard in the box, but needs to improve his hold-up play. Dickov scored two terrific goals against Palace and Tottenham just before the FA Cup Final, and later played for Scotland against England Under-21s in the semi-final of the Toulon Under-21 tournament.
Graham compares Dickov, in style and temperament, to David Speedie.
“He has an enormous will to win. He’s got a great heart, little Paul, but he needs to come with me a bit more. I’ll soon sort him out. He’s playing too much like Roy of the Rovers, he just needs to calm down a wee bit. He’s very headstrong. He’s a bit like Ian Wright , sometimes he just got to slow down, his mind’s got to slow down. Sometimes their passion just carries them away.”
The manager smiles, recalling his two fiery strikers.
“It’s a terrible thing, isn’t it? Sometimes I’d like to take some of their blood and put in it in other players!”