Highbury Memories - Aston Villa 2 May 1981

We now take for granted big games at Highbury but i remember times when it was a real event to have 57,000+ at the ground. At the end of 1981 we had had a relatively average season but we had the opportunity to get into the UEFA cup provided we won our last game of the season. It was against Villa, who needed to win (or get the same result as Ipswich) to win the league. Villa were given the whole of the clockend, Pele was a guest of honour and fighting was ongoing in the west and east lower stands all game! We won 2-0 and at the end of the game because of the fact that Ipswich had lost at Middlesbrough both sets of fans were delighted. There was a mass pitch invasion and the police set up a line across the halfway line to keep the supporters apart (cue more fighting in the lower east stand, where they could get at each other).

Man City (1-0) - 22nd October 2005

When you leave games like this you know one thing - this is a game that is going to be remembered for a long time but not because it was a 4-4 thriller! We arrived to see Thierry Henry embrace Ian Wright and be presented with an award for becoming the greatest goalscorer in Arsenal's history - greatest player ever, we shall see? The game showed how Stuart Pearce has got his team organised and why they have reached a lofty position this year. They didn't threaten but they easily stifled our limp display. Not exactly a lot to be remembered so far, huh?

Suddenly Mike Riley sprang into life, correctly (despite some city fans observations) awarded a penalty for a foul on Henry by James, up steps Pires and 1-0 - a penalty efficiently taken. 10 minutes later another foul on Bergkamp leads to another penalty and so the game will be forever enshrined in the memory for all the wrong (or funniest) reasons. Our 2 illustrious frenchmen have a chat and Bob steps up again and the strangest sight I've seen at Highbury takes place. Bob drags his foot over the top of the ball (just touching it), Thierry runs past and a Man City player boots it clear - Riley blows for a free-kick. What happened - well it seems that Bob / Tel were trying to recreate the Cruyff/Olsen goal from 1982 (see here) and cocked it up. We weren't 4-0 up and at best it was stupid but in reality it was downright unprofessional. Vassel's disallowed goal a few minutes later was a lucky reprieve for the two players. Afterwards TH admitted it was wrong and promised to take all future penalties.

Highbury Legends - Ian Wright

Being on holiday in the Trossachs in Scotland has meant that news has been scarce regarding Arsenal and so a text message I received that said we had beaten Sparta Prague 2-0 missed out a vital piece of information, Thierry Henry had beaten Ian Wright's record. Though every Arsenal faan would probably agree that Henry is a better player than Wright - IWWW retains huge affection amongst us (despite his inane TV shows and sulky punditry on the BBC when England play and his son is substituted!). IWWW arrived just after our 1991 triumph and despite scoring by the bucketload it wasn't until his final season (1998) that he finally got a deserved league winner's medal.

The Arsenal team, under George Graham, in the mid 90s was a poor team but highly disciplined and effective at getting the ball to Wright. He scored all types of goals - with my personal favourite moments (in terms of scoring goals) the hat-trick I witnessed at the Dell on his league debut and his 4 goals (all from Limpar crosses) against Everton at Highbury. Of course, another reason Wrigght was a hero was his attitude - he was a player other fans hated and some players too - who can forget his "relationship" with Peter Schmiechel!

Local Hosteleries - "The Bailey"

This the pub that most of my friends and I have now spent most time drinking in. After moving from the Higbury Barn we did attempt a short move to the Wig and Gown but soon moved down the road to The Bailey. It hasn't always been a perfect relationship but celebration parties in 1998, 2002 and 2004 have always been good fun. Unfortunately, the pub has also been recognised as a good pub for away fans as well. This means we get overcrowded (though generally good natured - unless the lovely Chelsea fans arrive) with mostly northern clubs' travelling numbers. It has also suffered from lack of beer on occassions but we always come back as it is the best pub around - especially on midweek nights with a pre-match Thai Curry!

Birmingham (1-0) - Sunday 2nd October 2005

On the way to this game (yet another Sky induced 1.30 ko on a Sunday) I had some time to kill and walked past the new stadium at Ashburton Grove (see the picture). Despite our slow start and many pundits talking of a "crisis" it is so impressive to see my club being so progressive - even if the thought of leaving Highbury will get me even sadder as the day arrives.

Yes there was a game today as well. Not great and it took a rather lucky deflection from a Robin Van persie shot to beat the superb MOTM performance from the Blues' goalkeeper, Maik Taylor.