From Carlos : fin de siècle
Tired and boringly repetitive. People will drift away and lose interest, we won’t attract casual fans, cash flow will be affected. Only then will there be an attempt to address the situation of mediocrity and drift.
The question is, when will there be a tipping point? Who, if anyone will bring it all to an end?
Does Gazidis have the clout to do it? Will Wenger change his spots and buy the players everyone can see he needs? Will he out the dead wood, who are holding back developing players – some of them English?
It’s almost fit to draw parallels with 85-86. Didn’t Paul Mariner play centre half against Villa infront of a crowd of barely 20 thousand in the league cup. Is Van Persie the new Paul Mariner?
Myles says :
Carlos, it’s your privilege today to have your comment answered by an authority on Arsenal.
Kevin Connolly was the Arsenal programme editor from July 1983 to November 1998. He won nine awards for his work there, including Programme of the Year in 1995-96.
Kevin Connolly replies :
The League Cup game Carlos mentions was a quarter-final replay against Villa.
Mariner played as a striker and scored Arsenal’s only goal in a 2-1 home defeat. The crowd was 33,091 on a very cold February night. Charlie Nicholas had put Arsenal ahead at Villa, but they missed several chances before Villa equalised.
I can’t remember the exact reasons – injuries mainly, perhaps a suspension or two. But Arsenal had to field an under-strength team for the replay. Regular midfielders Steve Williams, Stewart Robson and Paul Davis were all out. There was also a problem at centre back. If I remember right, Martin Keown was cup-tied because he’d previously played in the competition while on loan at Brighton. Chris Whyte was out of the frame and manager Don Howe didn’t start Tony Adams till later in the season. So Tommy Caton – who hadn’t started since a 3-0 defeat at Southampton in December – played in both ties.
I don’t think Arsenal ever again let short term loanees play in cup competitions, in case they were needed in later rounds after they’d returned to Highbury.
Arsenal team that night: Lukic, Anderson, Sansom, Rocastle, O’Leary, Caton, Allinson (Woodcock), Nicholas, Mariner, Quinn, Rix
Mariner had started one game that season as an emergency centre back – a 1-0 league home win over Leicester in August. He did so well that (manager) Don Howe suggested he might play there later in his career. So Mariner was perhaps an emergency defensive option. In the end though, he played in his usual position. That game against Leicester was his only Arsenal start in a number five shirt. He’d been suffering ankle and Achilles trouble all season and only began three league games.
Anyway, Arsenal’s League Cup exit was followed the following month by defeat at Luton in an FA Cup fifth round second replay, which effectively ended their season.
Don left at the end of the campaign. I seem to remember a tabloid revealed that Arsenal had been in talks with the then Barcelona coach Terry Venables – but the subsequent publicity ended that approach.
The early to mid-80s were a rocky time for the Gooners because they were still struggling to replace Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton.
Terry Neill had made big signings such as Kenny Sansom, Tony Woodcock, Caton and Charlie Nicholas, but couldn’t turn the tide. Neither could Don, who stepped up from assistant to succeed him at the end of 1983.
Only David O’Leary and Graham Rix remained from the successful 1978-80 team. Paul Davis and Stewart Robson had established themselves and Don knew he had a lot of talent coming through – Keown, Rocky, Adams, Quinn, Martin Hayes, Mickey Thomas and a (very) youthful Paul Merson.
To bridge the short-term gap, he’d signed England stars such as Viv Anderson, Williams and Mariner. So Arsenal had spent heavily and were paying big wages, but only finished seventh in the table.
George Graham arrived for the start of the 86-7 season, with a mandate to streamline the squad and bring on the youngsters. Ironically, Keown left for Villa because of a pay argument with the new boss – but Adams stepped in and never looked back! Caton, Whyte, Woodcock and Mariner all left that summer too.
Because of the financial situation, George’s only early buy was Perry Groves, at £65,000 from Colchester.
But League Cup final victory over Liverpool restored prestige and improved the financial situation. So did a rise to fourth in the league and a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals. In the spring of 1987, George made his first big money buy – Leicester centre forward Alan Smith for £750,000!