Arsenal Football Club History

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Love this pic…shows exactly what we are missing right now at the club…Keown was a proper hardman and put himself about…and if that didn’t work, Paddy V was in the wings waiting to wade in too…

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On this day…
22 April 1905. Last game for James Jackson. With Duncan McNichol he formed the original back two, making 204 appearances at full back. He moved onto Leyton, and after retiring from football became a blacksmith.

22 April 1905: Arsenal 2 Everton 1 – the first win (in the last game of the season) after 4 defeats and 3 draws. It left Arsenal 10th in the league, but still only 12 points off Everton at the top.

22 April 1908: James Sharp transferred to Rangers after three years at Woolwich Arsenal. His transfer was part of the notorious policy of selling top players in order to try and reduce the debts.

22 April 1911: Although no one thought of calling it St Totteringham Day, the first occasion on which Arsenal finished above Tottenham was on this day – with one game to spare. Between 1894 and 2014 there were 49 occasions when Arsenal were above Tottenham at the conclusion, and only 28 the other way round. On 32 other seasons the clubs were not in the same league. Arsenal and Tottenham

22 April 1912: For the first time since March 3 1906 Arsenal scored five in a league match in beating Blackburn 5-1. It was the third win in a row, but was aided by Blackburn putting out a weakened team as they were in the FA Cup semis.

22 April 1912: Andy Ducat’s final game – his departure was undoubtedly a major factor in the decline of the club in 1912/13. It was his 125th league game and as always he didn’t play the last game of the season due to cricketing commitments. He joined Aston Villa on 15 June.

22 April 1931: Arsenal’s first Sheriff of London game – a competition which was set up to be played between and amateur and a professional side in England once a year by Sir Thomas Dewar. Arsenal beat Corinthians 5-3 at Highbury; attendance 12,000.

22 April 1933: Chelsea 1 Arsenal 3 in front of 72,000 and as a result Arsenal became champions with two games spare. Bastin got 2 and Jack the other. It was part of a run in which Bastin scored in five consecutive games. It was also Chapman’s final triumph.

22 April 1935: Two years to the day on from Chapman’s 1933 trophy Arsenal made it 3 championships under 3 different managers, again with 2 games to spare, beating Middlesbrough 1-0 with a goal from Drake (giving him 42 goals in 41 league games – Arsenal’s all time record). He failed to score in the remaining two games.

22 April 1939: Stoke 1 Arsenal 0; Reg Cumner’s last league game. He had come through the ranks at Margate to play both for Arsenal and England, but only played 14 times for Arsenal, due to the war.

22 April 1947: Death of Frederick Coles. He had played 78 league games for Woolwich Arsenal at the start of the century before moving to Grimsby, later becoming a football and cricket coach in Gothenburg.

22 April 1953: Cardiff 0 Arsenal 0. After 18 goals in five games Arsenal were one point clear of second placed Wolverhampton with two games to play. The crowd was an extraordinary 57,800 in Ninian Park.

22 April 1959: Last international appearance of Dave Bowen. He played 19 times for Wales, and scored one goal.

22 April 1961: Arsenal 1 Wolverhampton 5. This was one of three consecutive defeats during which Arsenal let in 12 goals. It was Arsenal’s worst home defeat in the league since 14 February 1925 when Herbert Chapman’s Huddersfield won 0-5 at Highbury.

22 April 1967: Arsenal 1 Nottm F 1. Arsenal’s 5th successive draw during which Arsenal scored four goals. This time Storey scored. The previous three were scored by George Graham.

22 April 1970: Anderlecht 3 Arsenal 1, Fairs Cup final 1st leg. Ray Kennedy scored. It was widely thought that Anderlecht would see out the second leg to take the trophy.

22 April 1978: John Devine’s first league game. Leeds 1 Arsenal 3. First Arsenal win at Leeds for 40 years. Pat Jennings captain for the first time. Stapleton and Macdonald scored – the third was an og.

22 April 1998: Tony Adams gained his 50th international cap. He went on to get 64 in total, and scored five goals in international matches.

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Not a good day to play finals at Wembley.
On this day
23 April 1898: Last appearance for John Caldwell. He then moved on with two other players to Brighton United. He played 93 times in the League for Woolwich Arsenal and scored twice.

23 April 1902: Arsenal 0 Tottenham 0. Southern Professional Charity Cup. Tottenham had won the FA Cup in 1901 but were not in the League, so this competition was an opportunity for the two old rivals to meet.

23 April 1910: Arsenal’s season ended with a 1-3 home defeat to Preston. Arsenal finished 18th in the league with the 19th and 20th clubs being relegated. Chelsea gained two points fewer than Arsenal but had a better goal average so the finish was nail biting to the last.

23 April1913: Robert (“Bobby”) Davidson born. He played for Saint Johnston against Arsenal in a friendly in September 1934 and was selected for the Scottish League team a few weeks later. Arsenal offered £4,000 and on 1st February 1935 he moved to Arsenal.

23 April 1914: Although as yet not officially sanctioned, Arsenal played their first match under the new name of The Arsenal. The board accepted the special resolution to officially change the name but the name was not formally changed on 10 May 1915.

23 April 1917: Laurie Scott born. He was signed by George Allison for Arsenal in 1937 and was changed from being a winger to being a right back, and after the war emerged in the first team at the start of the 1946-7 season.

23 April 1927: Arsenal’s first FA Cup Final – lost to Cardiff 0-1 at Wembley. The crowd of 91,206 was the largest thus far to see an Arsenal game. This was also the first cup final broadcast on radio.

23 April 1932: Arsenal’s 3rd cup final, losing 1-2 to Newcastle. It was a season of being runner’s up as Arsenal also came second in the First Division.

23 April 1962: Arsenal achieve a 2-2 draw against Ipswich before a record crowd of 30,649 at Portman Road on Good Friday. Hundreds of fans were locked out and many hung precariously from the floodlight pylons. John MacLeod got Arsenal’s first goal and Eastham the second with a spectacular overhead bicycle kick.

23 April 1966: Arsenal 1 Sunderland 1. After only 8,738 attended the previous home game 25,699 turned up to see relegation threatened Sunderland whom Arsenal had beaten away three days before.

23 April 1966: The decline of interest in Arsenal was emphasised by the fact that on the same day as Arsenal were playing Sunderland Northampton managed by ex-Arsenal man Dave Bowen got a crowd of 24,523 into their 3 sided ground, despite heading for relegation.

23 April 1997: Dennis Compton CBE died on the first day of the new cricket season. Flags at cricket clubs were flown at half mast and later the MCC named the stand at the Nursery End at Lords after him.

23 April 1980: Arsenal became the first British club to win at Juventus in a competitive match winning 1-0. The scorer was Paul Vaessen who gained immediate fame but was unable to develop his career due to injury.

23 April 1994: Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 2. Ian Wright scored two goals to end the season with 23 league goals, but with no chance of ending higher than fourth the season fell away in the remaining three games.

23 April 2000. Arsène Wenger criticised the FA for allowing Man U a winter break from the league and a non-appearance in the FA Cup in order to play in a Fifa confederations competition.

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Didn’t watch this. Left the room as I was to nervous to watch :see_no_evil:

Now 13 years later let’s stop these cunts winning it this weekend.

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25 April 1891: Arsenal’s first substitute, in a friendly against Sunderland. Davy Howat was forced to leave the pitch with an injury after 20 minutes and at half time it was agreed that Henry Offer could take Howat’s place. It finished Arsenal 1 Sunderland 3. It was part of the programme of playing league clubs ahead of the first season in the league.

25 April 1895: Royal Ordnance Factories 0 Woolwich Arsenal 0. In 1892/3 Arsenal was embroiled in a battle with their ground landlord and his supporters inside the club, which resulted ultimately in Woolwich Arsenal joining the Football League while the landlord and others formed a new club (ROF FC) and joining the Southern League. They played on grounds opposite each other and this match showed they were at least talking to each other by this date. Further matches followed.

25 April 1903: Arsenal ended their season beating Chesterfield Municipal 1-0 having beaten Chesterfield Town on 10 April 3-0. Quite what the attraction was with Chesterfield at this time is not known.

25 April 1904: Arsenal 0 Port Vale 0. This result gave Arsenal promotion, and left them undefeated at home all season with just two draws. However a win would have given them the championship. The crowd was 20,000

25 April 1908: First game for Matthew Thomson in a friendly away to Dundee. Arsenal lost 1-2. Thomson came from Maryhill for whom he played in the season 1902/03. His first league game was in the 1-1 draw at home with Middlesbrough on March 17 1909

25 April 1910: The limited company that was set up to run Woolwich Arsenal in 1893, The Woolwich Arsenal Football And Athletic Company Limited was dissolved. A new company was set up on the following day: 26 April 1910

25 April 1914: Arsenal finished their first season after the move to Highbury, with a 2-0 win over Glossop North End in front of 25,000. The club came third, missing promotion only on goal average. Bradford and Notts County went up instead.

25 April 1908: Death of Harry Storer. After leaving Arsenal he went to Liverpool and continued to play for them until 1899, staying on the books until 1901. Tragically he died just six years later in Derbyshire of tuberculosis aged 38.

25 April 1919: The London Combination which had been the league for the capital during the first world war prepared to vote itself out of existence, to make way for the return of the Football League. In the event it didn’t, and instead became the reserve league for London.

25 April 1921: Arsenal 2 Present North End 1. This made it seven without defeat as Arsenal challenged for their best position in the first division thus far, beating the 6th of 1909 – although it wasn’t to be. Hopkins and McKinnon scored.

25 April 1932: Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 1. Leslie Compton’s debut. He was transferred from Hampstead Town and went on to play 253 league games for Arsenal in a 20 year career with the club.

25 April 1936: Arsenal 1 Sheffield U 0. FA Cup final. This was Allison’s second trophy in his first two years of management. Ted Drake scored.

25 April 1939: Archie Leitch died. He is remembered as the prime architect of Highbury, but should also be remembered for his work on the Manor Ground in Plumstead. Henry Norris also employed him to work at Fulham while he also worked on Stamford Bridge at the same time!

25 April 1953: Preston 2 Arsenal 0, leaving the teams on equal points at the top with one game to go. Everything thus came down to the final game played on the evening before the cup final, on a mud pile of a Highbury pitch.

25 April 1961: Terry Neill international debut for N Ireland. He went to manage Arsenal for 416 games – more than Herbert Chapman, but unlike Chapman left no lasting legacy at all.

25 April 1977: Arsenal 3 Aston Villa 0. Last league game for Wilf Rostron. He played only 17 times for Arsenal across four years, and went on to Sunderland, but he is best remembered at Watford for his 317 league games for them.

25 April 1979: Nine days after beating Chelsea 5-2 Arsenal lost 1-5 to Villa. In between we lost 0-2 to Derby. In total Arsenal played nine games in 33 days ahead of the Man U cup final.

25 April 1981: Wolverhampton 1 Arsenal 2, which made it six wins and two draws in the last eight games as Arsenal headed for a final position of 3rd – the club’s best since 1972. Stapleton scored, the other goal was an own goal.

25 April 1987: Man City 3 Arsenal 0. Arsenal had just beaten Leicester 4-1 and with Man City bottom of the league, this looked like a certain victory with Arsenal fourth, but it was most certainly not to be.

25 April 1998: Barnsley 0 Arsenal 2. Arsenal moved closer to the championship, and received a standing ovation from the home crowd. 34th league game of the 2nd Double season. Bergkamp scored his 16th and final league goal of the season to end as top scorer.

25 April 2004. Arsenal won the League, at White Hart Lane, for the second time since Tottenham last won the league. The score was Tottenham 2 Arsenal 2 and this was the 34th league game of the unbeaten season. Lehmann (having conceded a penalty in the 94th minute) failed to return to the pitch to celebrate afterwards. Vieira and Pires got the goals.

25 April 2007: Death of Alan Ball aged 61. After his playing days he became a manager, having eight different stints with clubs the length and breadth of England. He was never a success in the job however, and retired aged 54.

25 April 2007: Death of Arthur Shaw. It is reported that after finishing playing football he became a successful professional gambler, later meeting Malcolm Allison with whom he formed a successful gambling partnership.

25 April 2007: Death of Arthur Milton. Only twelve men played football and cricket for England in full internationals and test matches – Arsenal player Arthur Milton was the last of that remarkable group.

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We had ran out of legs in that semi final 2nd leg also, if Jens didn’t save that I think we would have lost in extra time.

This post mentions ‘promotion’ in a couple places

“25 April 1904: Arsenal 0 Port Vale 0. This result gave Arsenal promotion, and left them undefeated at home all season with just two draws. However a win would have given them the championship. The crowd was 20,000”

and

“25 April 1914: Arsenal finished their first season after the move to Highbury, with a 2-0 win over Glossop North End in front of 25,000. The club came third, missing promotion only on goal average. Bradford and Notts County went up instead.”

This confuses me as I was under the impression that Arsenal have never played outside of Englands’ top-flight. I know they were relegated once, ( I think just before or after the First World War) but still played in the First Division when football resumed after an election, at Tottenham’s expense. Have Arsenal been relegated more than once/ played in England’s lower leagues? Genuinely curious.

Early days we did but once we got in we’ve never been out of it… 1919 to present.
http://www.blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/5215

Relegated 1912-13 season… Only time…

Brilliant again SLAG ,
Thank you son on behalf of us all .
Cracking reading .

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After reading the replies from scum fans it makes you really want to smash those wankers on Sunday…
Bitter fucks…
@Stroller is that you in the replies?

Fuck’em SLAG . They’ll always be living in our shadow. If they finish above us then they do .
Personally I’d rather us smash Chelski in the FA Cup final and I mean smash 'em .

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id like to smash them both…and the mancs…would be a perfect end to a shit season…

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No mate but I endorse the sentiment though.:wink:

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26 April 1893: Sevenoaks 0 Arsenal 11. This was part of the programme of building towards the launch of Arsenal’s league career in September, but as the score suggests, local teams were not really up to Arsenal’s strengths.

26 April 1899: Arsenal 3 Woolwich League 0. This is one of those tantalising friendlies which exist in the results, but for which we have no information. Charlton (formed 1905) certainly played in the Woolwich League for a few years.

26 April 1910 With the original limited Woolwich Arsenal company dissolved on 25 April, and a new company bearing the same name as the old one came into existence on this. This company still trades today and continues to carry out its business as Arsenal FC.

26 April 1913: Arsenal 1 Middlesbrough 1; after a disastrous season Woolwich Arsenal played their last game at the Manor Ground as Arsenal were relegated for the only time in their history. Stonley scored the last Arsenal goal in Plumstead; it was his only goal in Plumstead. 3000 turned up for this final match.

26 April 1926: Arsenal 5 Hibernian 0. Last game for John Alex Mackie. He played 108 league games for the club, 119 overall, before moving to Portsmouth, and later Northampton, ending his career at the outbreak of war.

26 April 1930. Arsenal won their first ever F.A. Cup 2-0 v Huddersfield. It was the final remembered for the Zepplin flying overhead, and because it involved Chapman’s present and past employers playing each other. It was also the first final in which the managers led their teams onto the pitch.

26 April 1952: Manchester United 6 Arsenal 1. Last game for Reg Lewis. His career was hampered by injuries and he retired having played 176 games scoring 116 goals. He went on to run a pub and work in insurance. .

26 April 1958: Last game for Mike Tiddy. Preston 3 Arsenal 0. His career was shortened by repeated injury, and eventually Arsenal brought in Joe Haverty as a replacement. Mike moved on to Brighton and Hove Albion.

26 April 1965: Man U 3 Arsenal 1 ended the season with Arsenal 13th after just two wins in the last 10. George Eastham scored a penalty for Arsenal.

26 April 1971: Leeds 1 Arsenal 0. 0-0 after 90 minutes, Charlton was obviously offside as he took the ball and shot in injury time. The shot hit the post, ran along the line as Charlton ran into McNab and the ball went in. With Arsenal players outraged both by the off-side and the foul on McNab the police came onto the pitch and led the ref away. Arsenal were now one point behind Leeds.

26 April 1975: Arsenal 1 Tottenham 0. The only win in the last five as Arsenal ended the season in 16th. Kidd scored the goal (his 19th of the season) in a far from full Highbury. Arsenal lost the final match 0-1 to West Ham.

26 April 1980: Arsenal 1 WBA 1. Stapleton scored his 13th of the season. Better form could have given Arsenal 3rd instead of 4th at the end of the season, but Arsenal won just one of the last six, and scoring just five goals in those games, while letting in eight.

26 April 1986: Arsenal 2 WBA 2. This draw in front of just 14,843 made it one win in eight. Robson and a penalty from Allinson gave Arsenal their goals.

26 April 2008: Perry Groves was arrested in Colchester and issued with a fixed penalty notice for a Section 5 public order offence of using abusive and insulting words and behaviour, likely to cause harassment.

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Not sure this one counts as Arsenal history :smile:

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It does in a Perry Groves world.

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27 April 1865: Archie Leitch, the architect involved in both the Manor Ground and Highbury, was born. His first high profile job involved building a new stadium for Rangers but part of the stadium collapsed causing many deaths, and it was after this that he moved to London to find new work.

27 April 1895: Arsenal 3 Millwall Athletic 1. 8000 were in the crowd and this was one of 18 matches in a row against the local rivals without defeat.

27 April 1898: Alfred Baker born. He worked initially as a miner and it is said that manager Knighton signed him at the pit head in order to ward off interest from other teams. He turned pro with Arsenal in May 1919 and stayed until he retired from football.

27 April 1893: Test Matches were played as part of the process of expanding the leagues while the bottom eight clubs of the second division had to stand for re-election. Bootle were ejected, Accrington resigned and the Second Division was expanded to 15, allowing Arsenal the chance to apply for a spare place.

27 April 1901: Final game for James Tennant. He had played in the 12-0 defeat of Loughboro and later played for Falkirk where he was involved in a bizarre and notorious episode in which after a night out he and a fellow player signed for East Stirlingshire while drunk.

27 April 1904: Charles Satterthwaite (the man who scored the first Arsenal goal in the first division), was transferred from WHU. He played 126 games for Arsenal and his brother Joe also played five games for Arsenal in 1907/8

27 April 1907: Arsenal’s lowest crowd of the season (just 2,000) turned up for the final home game of the campaign, in which Arsenal beat Derby 3-2 to take Arsenal 7th in the league.

27 April 1909: 30,000 attended to watch Man U 1 Arsenal 4, in the final match of the campaign, making it five wins and a draw in the month, and a final position of 6th – the best yet. It was also the last ever game for Thomas Fitchie, the travelling sales rep Arsenal signed five times.

27 April 1912: Last game for Leigh Roose. He was the absolute showman goalkeeper and was known to shout, swear and pick fights on and off the pitch. He retired from football at this point, and was killed in action in the Battle of the Somme.

27 April 1929: Cliff Bastin signed for Arsenal after just 17 Third Division games for Exeter. He played in their first team aged 16 years 1 month and in his home debut for the first team he scored two in a 5-1 win against Newport County.

27 April 1935: Leicester 3 Arsenal 5. Beasley (2) Crayston (2) and Davidson scored as Arsenal, already champions, reached 115 league goals. Drake had already got 42, and Bastin 20. Arsenal lost their final match of the season 0-1!

27 April 1954: Arsenal 4 Racing Club de Paris 0. This was part of the series of games that was initiated by Herbert Chapman as a benefit to servicemen injured in the first world war.

27 April 1959: Arsenal won the Southern Floodlight Challenge Cup for the only time beating Crystal Palace 0-2 away. It was Arsenal’s first competitive visit to Selhurst Park with a team that included Mel Charles – who scored the winning goal.

27 April 1963: Blackpool 3 Arsenal 2. Debut for Jon Sammels – who scored one of the two goals. He played just two games this season, but went on to play 212 games all told, including making 21 appearances in the first Double season.

27 April 1973 Double-winning captain Frank McLintock was sold to QPR for £25,000. He played 127 league games for QPR over four years, taking the club to second position in the First Division in 1976, as Arsenal sunk to 17th, retiring one year later.

27 April 1991: Arsenal 1 Liverpool 3. Benefit match for Ray Kennedy. He was Shankly’s last purchase as Liverpool’s manager, and his sale to them was an absolute disaster for Arsenal, a triumph for Liverpool, and a sign of Mee’s total lack of judgement at the time. Was at this game, Jim Leighten played in goal for us(useless at the twist). Reason for game, Kennedy suffered from Parkinsons disease and had fallen on hard times…Im sure a documentary was also made at the time…

27 April 1996: Blackburn 1 Arsenal 1. The 3rd of four without a win left Arsenal in fifth. Wright scored a penalty – his last goal of the season to give him 15 league goals as top scorer.

27 April 2003: Thierry Henry voted PFA Player of the Year. Overall he was runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year twice, was PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and the FWA Footballer of the Year three times

Just found this interview from 2008.

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