Hello people, it's been a while...

Just thought I'd post something in here as it seems apt. My dad passed away a year ago this month and I just wanted to write something as a bit of a tribute to him. He was 86.

My dad followed Arsenal from the 40's onwards and was a regular at Highbury from then right up to the 80's. When I was a child he told me endless stories of great players he has seen, the Compton brothers, Ted Drake, Kelsey, Ronnie Rooke, Mercer...he was there when we won the league at Highbury in 1953. He always made me think of Arsenal as this incredible, classy club full of heroes, and when I got the bug myself just after the '71 double, I had a bit of a wait for my own heroes.

I remember, as a small child, my dad coming home deflated from Wembley '72, and from the seasons after he endured taking me for season after season, frustrated that I didn't experience the same Arsenal that he had. It didn't matter to me. The echoes of those past nights and players were soaked into the stands and the marble halls...Arsenal were special, it was only a matter of time. Still, we had Alan Ball, then the young Brady, Stapleton, O'leary then Jennings, Supermac. always Geordie Armstong, I was gathering my heroes and memories.

The three cup finals had me experience glory with my dad for the first time. He was delighted, not just for Arsenal, but now for me. Then, later again, the Graham era and Anfield '89. I phoned him from a petrol station after we had won outside the ground. What a night.

Then Bergkamp. Then some real dominance with the start of the Wenger era. He had seen some great players my dad, including other teams players, Best, Matthews etc...he had said that no one he had seen had ever compared with Bergkamp and Henry.

I miss my dad. I miss our discussions about everything, but most of all our understanding of Arsenal. He got to see us win our last 2 fa cups, and he never stopped believing that we are truly a special club. Different. Classy. Real...and with all the other pretenders around us, and all the debates around Wenger and how and where we see ourselves I still see us like that, perhaps I still carry that awe of a young child, backed now with my own memories that I now intend to pass on to my own Arsenal mad son.

We'll always be a great club, because we are Arsenal. Thanks dad.

Thank you . Was lovely to read. Class runs right through every facet of this football club and always has done.

When I think back to what I've seen growing up watching Arsenal I am reminded what a truly glorious football team I support; the moments of joy I've been so privileged to experience, the players I've seen wearing that red and white shirt.....lucky, lucky, lucky.

Hope your boy gets as lucky as we've been and because Arsenal are Arsenal, I'm sure he will.

Cheers to Arsenal and cheers to your Dad. 🙂

Mammoth post Famous. Writing like that makes it hard to pay a lot of mind to the bickering over whether Vardy does or doesn't secretly want to join us. Vale to your pa.

Famous no 10 wrote:

We'll always be a great club, because we are Arsenal. Thanks dad.

Well your dad would be delighted and very proud Famous, he has passed the torch on.  🙂

Lovely read. Hope you stick around Famous.

On a slightly different note Famous, were you the one who got annoyed after I copied your Dennis Bergkamp avatar back on AM? 😆

Ha ha, yes! I remember that. The whole forum started using it for a while, done my head in! I was a regular on there since the early days, but it just got worse on there .

Thanks for the words guys.

Going back to my post, my dad also passed on  stories of old legends that he'd been told first hand by the supporters he met at Highbury, the older guys who witnessed Hapgood, James, Buchan etc doing there thing under Herbert Chapman.

The club resonates with history, even down to the quirkyness of the old ground, the Dial square/Royal Arsenal background, the old art nouveu stand, the clock, the highbury horse, the metropolitan band and it's tribute to the North bank. The emirates hasn't quite got there yet, but I'm pleased that there is still a nod to the past within our new ground, and that we're still just around the corner from Highbury.

Welcome back Famous! Always had the best stories.

Great to see another of the old regulars here. Welcome famous!

a month later
2 months later


No arguments from me as the odd change here or there wouldn't strengthen the team.

Santi knows his shit, of course. 🙂

5 days later
Famous no 10 wrote:

Hello people, it's been a while...

Just thought I'd post something in here as it seems apt. My dad passed away a year ago this month and I just wanted to write something as a bit of a tribute to him. He was 86.

My dad followed Arsenal from the 40's onwards and was a regular at Highbury from then right up to the 80's. When I was a child he told me endless stories of great players he has seen, the Compton brothers, Ted Drake, Kelsey, Ronnie Rooke, Mercer...he was there when we won the league at Highbury in 1953. He always made me think of Arsenal as this incredible, classy club full of heroes, and when I got the bug myself just after the '71 double, I had a bit of a wait for my own heroes.

I remember, as a small child, my dad coming home deflated from Wembley '72, and from the seasons after he endured taking me for season after season, frustrated that I didn't experience the same Arsenal that he had. It didn't matter to me. The echoes of those past nights and players were soaked into the stands and the marble halls...Arsenal were special, it was only a matter of time. Still, we had Alan Ball, then the young Brady, Stapleton, O'leary then Jennings, Supermac. always Geordie Armstong, I was gathering my heroes and memories.

The three cup finals had me experience glory with my dad for the first time. He was delighted, not just for Arsenal, but now for me. Then, later again, the Graham era and Anfield '89. I phoned him from a petrol station after we had won outside the ground. What a night.

Then Bergkamp. Then some real dominance with the start of the Wenger era. He had seen some great players my dad, including other teams players, Best, Matthews etc...he had said that no one he had seen had ever compared with Bergkamp and Henry.

I miss my dad. I miss our discussions about everything, but most of all our understanding of Arsenal. He got to see us win our last 2 fa cups, and he never stopped believing that we are truly a special club. Different. Classy. Real...and with all the other pretenders around us, and all the debates around Wenger and how and where we see ourselves I still see us like that, perhaps I still carry that awe of a young child, backed now with my own memories that I now intend to pass on to my own Arsenal mad son.

We'll always be a great club, because we are Arsenal. Thanks dad.

invisibleman18 wrote:

Great read, welcome back.

I would like to echo the above.

goon wrote:

On a slightly different note Famous, were you the one who got annoyed after I copied your Dennis Bergkamp avatar back on AM? 😆

I remember lurking and i sided with Famous at the time.  :saint:

6 months later
24 days later

Facebook tells me it's 13 years ago today we won the league at Spurs. 13 years. Jeez.

Tam wrote:

Facebook tells me it's 13 years ago today we won the league at Spurs. 13 years. Jeez.

Time flies etc.....must be hard for Spuds & LFC. ;D

Nearly 14 years since Marco Materazzi and Javier Zanetti argued over who got to swap shirts with Thierry Henry.