This web site was set up in order to draw attention to the events that occurred in the 1909/1910 season during which Woolwich Arsenal went into liquidation and were taken over by Fulham.
That might seem an odd thing to celebrate – but the result of that takeover by Fulham led directly to three things…
1: The move to Highbury (after the FA refused the amalgamation of Fulham and Woolwich Arsenal)
2: Promotion in 1919
3: Bringing in Herbert Chapman.
My concern was that in a season which celebrates the anniversary of our first ever major triumph (the FA Cup victory) and our first ever European triumph, the events of 1909/1910 which actually led to the formation of the modern Arsenal, might well be ignored.
But, I’m delighted to say, the little campaign we’ve been running here and on UNTOLD ARSENAL has had an effect.
This week at the AZ game on wednesday the official club programme is running an article on the events of the season 100 year ago – and this marks the first major recognition of the importance of this period – and is a direct result of our campaigning.
Of course this isn’t the end of the campaign to develop a greater understanding of the history of Arsenal. There’s a new web site emerging under the auspicies of Arsenal Independent Supporters Association and I’ll be running details here once AISA launch the project.
And there’s the book: MAKING THE ARSENAL. This is a novel based on the diary of a Fleet Street journalist who covered the whole story of the demise of the original Woolwich Arsenal and the rise of the new club owned by Henry Norris. There’s more about the book here.
And finally here’s another piece of news. I did fear at first this was just me making a bit of a fuss about something that fascinated me. But in fact this site (which has only been running on a daily basis since 1st September) got over 20,000 individual visitors in October. That’s a terrific number after just two months in operation.
So, all in all, it looks like it’s not just me and there is a serious interest in the past, which is rather nice.
I hope you are able to get a copy of the programme on Wednesday, but also I do hope feel able to consider the book. It’s quite funny. And fairly true.
(c) Tony Attwood 2009.
Tony, I think that to be a real fan you have to know a bit about the history of your club.
I’m not saying people should be examined before entering the Emirates but one has to know a bit of the history of our club to fully understand the present.
This year I did an Emirates tour with one of my sons and visited the museum and only then I realised how much different we are as a club not only in the present, thanks to your Untold Arsenal site, but also in the past.
I know young people, like my sons live in the present and only think about that and a small bit of the not so distant future. People who get a bit older do have the habbit of looking over the shoulder to the past and then you realise the way you have gone and also if you are a real fan, the way our club has walked during it’s history. With all the ups and downs that life has in everyones programm book.
I really thank you for the way you teach me, and those other, that our club did not came out of nothing and just was there. No it was a long and sometimes hard journey to where we are now. And for me that is on the eve of a new era of great teams, great players and great results.