Category: Arsenal

By Tony Attwood Whatever happened to Micky Thomas? When I heard that Thomas had signed for Liverpool on this day in 1991 I thought it was a joke – a stupid wind-up.   Thomas, the man who had really hurt Liverpool in more ways than can be imagined had moved to the team we beat to …

Read More “16 December 1991: Michael Thomas to Liverpool. Surely the oddest transfer of all time.”

By Tony Attwood Today, December 15, is an Arsenal anniversary that I can’t imagine anyone even thinking about, let alone writing about.   Well, anyone except me, I guess. The event is question is one that won’t throw much light on the situation either, for it is the anniversary of the signing of Harold Peel being …

Read More “Not all Chapman signings were superstars.”

By Tony Attwood Surely every Arsenal supporter knows that Ted Drake once scored seven goals in a league game.   What not everyone will know is that it was on December 14 1935, and was actually in the 7-1 away win against Aston Villa. So those are the facts, but what else can we glean from …

Read More “December 14. Ted Drake Day”

By Tony Attwood Arsenal FC has a long history of supposed fans turning against their own players – a history that goes back to the 19th century.  Indeed much of this early Anti-Arsenal Arsenal activity is discussed in The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: a volume which considers in detail the crowd’s behaviour at the …

Read More “December 13: when Arsenal fans turned against Arsenal – the start of the modern era”

By Tony Attwood The  Walsall Experiment  You’ll have heard about the game: Walsall of the Third Division North vs Arsenal; 14th January 1933. In the previous season we had come second in the league and were runners up in the F.A. Cup.  At the time of the Walsall game we were top of the 1st …

Read More “Arsenal’s most humbling experience: The Walsall Experiment”

——————————- The books… Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910 The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches The sites… For the parent who really wants to know what is really going on in schools …

Read More “Today is the anniversary of Arsenal’s first ever match”

By Mark Andrews We at the AHS have always championed John Wilkinson Humble because he was associated with the club from the start of the 2nd season as a player in 1887  until leaving in a Norris inspired cloud in 1927. 40 years at a club as player, committeeman, director and supporter is very impressive. However, …

Read More “Too Humble an Umpire?”

By Tony Attwood A little while ago I wrote up an analysis of how Herbert Chapman, over a period of years, built a great team, working on each position in turn until he had the definitive player for the role.   Then as that player’s ability declined, or if he suffered a really bad injury, he …

Read More “Chapman’s real secret: how the club was organised during his reign”

By Tony Attwood This is an article in our series on Herbert Chapman.  The full index of the series to date is to be found in the Chapman page of the Managers’ Index We have heard so much about how Herbert Chapman revolutionised Arsenal, introducing the WM formation after being beaten 7-0 by Newcastle, how …

Read More “Chapman’s real innovations as a football manager”

We have written before about the crowd at Woolwich Arsenal’s ground and I won’t repeat everything said before. But it is important to say that the book has now been published. If you want to order the book directly from the publishers click here But here’s another option: if you would like to read a …

Read More “The Crowd At Woolwich Arsenal – the first complete analysis”

by Andy Kelly On the 22nd of October 1949 Arsenal’s reserves journeyed to South Wales to play Cardiff City in a Football Combination game. Arsenal’s team included youngsters Jack Kelsey, John Chenhall, Joe Wade, Ray Daniel, Arthur Shaw and Arthur Milton, who would all go on to win honours at the club, along with veteran …

Read More “On this day in 1949 – Arsenal players start the second half with a fag!”

The club that changed football Coming this week – “The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal” Making the Arsenal Referee Decisions – just what are the refs up to this season? The only guaranteed way to lose weight programme Untold Arsenal Arsenal History Index ————————————————– The big difference that Chapman made in his first season. By Tony …

Read More “From Failure to Excellence: moving from Knighton to Chapman”

 By Mark Andrews As part of the Arsenal History Society programme, Hamilton House is publishing my thesis, which is the source for chapter 6 of the recently published “Woolwich Arsenal FC 1893-1915: the club that changed football”. This book ‘The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC’ is in essence the original research I carried out while studying …

Read More “The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal”

    By Tony Attwood This article was updated in the light of evidence and questions raised in the comments made at the end.  The comments have been left in place so that the questions raised can still be seen by anyone who would like to do further investigation.   The name Fred Pagnam hardly rings …

Read More “Fred Pagnam: One reason why Knighton’s testimony should be ignored”

by Andy Kelly This weekly series charts Arsenal’s final season in Plumstead and the move to Islington that, effectively, saved the club’s very existence. Saturday 12th October 1912 Arsenal hosted fellow Londonders Chelsea. Chelsea were a relatively new club having been formed in 1905. They gained admission into the Second Division of the Football League …

Read More “14th October 1912 – The Wheels Start Wobbling”

 The club that changed football Making the Arsenal ———————————- Today, 14 October is the 119th anniversary of Arsenal’s all time FA Cup record victory. It came right at the start of the Woolwich Arsenal era, and is recorded in detail in the book, Woolwich Arsenal the club that changed football.  Below is an extract from …

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 The club that changed football Making the Arsenal Coming very soon: The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal By Tony Attwood We have variant stories as to how Herbert Chapman moved from being a footballer to being a football manager.  Not very variant, but slightly different.  But it is still possible to get a fair picture of …

Read More “Herbert Chapman: the Northampton Town years”

 The club that changed football Making the Arsenal The main series:  Islington 100: celebrating 100 years of Arsenal in Islington Arsenal’s Anniversaries The Managers index with two managers that no one else includes! ——————————— By Tony Attwood For the story so far, see The Chapman Files We’ve looked at Chapman’s choice of player for each …

Read More “The Chapman formation: did he really create something new?”

by Andy Kelly This weekly series charts Arsenal’s final season in Plumstead and the move to Islington that, effectively, saved the club’s very existence. Saturday 5th October 1912 The Woolwich Arsenal team journeyed up to the north-west to play Oldham. Captain Percy Sands and Charlie Randall returned to the team after missing one and two …

Read More “7th October 1912 – Title winning form from Woolwich Arsenal”

Did Chapman really introduce a new formation? The way in which teams line up in formations that we today call 4-3-3- etc etc emerged from the original rules of football, and to how matters led up to what we now celebrate as the WM formation of Herbert Chapman can only be understood in the context …

Read More “Did Chapman really introduce a new playing formation in 1925?”

By Tony Attwood And so we come to the final piece of the jigsaw, Chapman’s outside left.  Chapman inherited Toner and Haden in this position.   We can see what Chapman thought of Toner – he played the first two games of 1925/6 season at number 11, and that was it for him. Haden fared a …

Read More “Chapman’s number 11”