One-Nil to the Arsenal:  Part 2 - The Gaffer: George Graham

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1:15Homegrown Arsenal midfielder, David Hillier. no I think I think everybody who worked for the club at the time as well even staff there's only a few left now that were working when George was working I would I don't want to speak for them all but I would say that when George was manager of our club it was the closest knit that the club had ever been I mean every player had a relationship with Tony Donnelly and Ethel the kit man and kit lady and they put us in our place. They put all the players in their place. We would all go into the ticket offices and everything was really integrated. Now the ticket office is a completely different department.

2:03They never see a first-team player in there. There's no relationships. I still speak to every person that worked in that office 35 years ago. I'm friends with them on Facebook, on Instagram. I see them at games. you know and they're all in their late 60s now and sort of mid to late 60s and it's like yeah i remember you when you was 30 and i was 18.

2:31on may 4th 1994 arsenal traveled to copenhagen undermanned and decidedly as underdogs to face Parma in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final. This is 1-0 to the Arsenal, the story of the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup victory. I'm your host, Kent Malmros. Part 2, the gaffer, George Graham.

3:01In the history of modern English football, there are a handful of managers who have become so identified with their clubs that they're entirely synonymous with the team, the colors, and the history. Sir Alex Ferguson stands above all others in that regard at Manchester United, and Arsene Wenger is close behind with his affiliation at Arsenal. And yet the modern era at Arsenal truly started before the days of Wenger. Those that were there, that were part of the club, and even the players that overlap the Wenger era will tell you, modern arsenal began with George Graham. That win in Copenhagen was simultaneously the culmination of Graham's career in North London, as well as, for all intents and purposes, his final winning act as manager.

3:49But that story began years earlier, in 1986. Actually, that's not true either. It more accurately began decades earlier in 1966. Graham, who was born and raised in Scotland, showed such promise as a youth player that the likes of Newcastle and Chelsea demonstrated interest in signing him before he finally landed with Aston Villa in 1961 to start a long and successful English football playing career. Nicknamed Stroller, Graham began accumulating his 455 appearances in England with Villa before moving to Chelsea in 1964. It was his next stop, though, that would be the preface to his managerial masterpiece on a few levels.

4:35Arsenal at the time was under the leadership of Bertie Mee. As you may recall from part one, he would be the first and, until 1994, only manager to lead the team to European silverware of any type. After a 50 ,000 pound transfer fee was paid for Graham. He moved from his normal midfield position to center forward, became a regular, and then the team's top scorer in 1966-67 and 67-68. He'd later moved back to the midfield as an inside forward with John Radford moving from wing to central striker. The team's run of form over the next few years with Graham in the midfield gave the Scotsman a taste of cup success and then glory.

5:18The Gunners were runner-up in both the 1968 and 69 League Cup finals. But in the 1969-70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Graham was part of that squad that delivered European silverware for the first time.

5:37Long-time Arsenal journalist, Amy Lawrence. It was just so exciting to be progressing in Europe, you know. Arsenal had one European trophy to their name, and that was in 1970. George Graham played in that era. It was something that meant a lot to him. That was the only European silverware the club ever had. And, you know, it's another story for another podcast, but a club of Arsenal stature should have a lot more. But, you know, it did weigh heavy. and seizing the opportunity to try and win in Europe became so compelling to George Graham. And he just almost vicariously lived through his team those ideas.

6:28Like, I know how it feels to win a European trophy with this club. And actually, talk about how does it feel when Tony Adams scores that goal against him. era will have grown up with the legend of 1970 in the fairs got of the legend of winning 3-0 at hybrid it's one of the most famous games in hybrid's history they were three one down it was a two-legged final uh against and elect in fact they were three nil down and they got a consolation goal late on in the first leg and they were i remember frank clinton was the captain of the time saying everybody was absolutely down in the dumps in the dressing room.

7:11You know, losing 3-1 in the first leg was not great of a final. And everybody was silent and frozen by what was going on. And he walked in and said, come on, we're going to win this. We've got that goal. We can do it. We can turn it around the second leg and completely lifted everybody. And the second leg at Highbury was iconic. There was everybody on the pitch at the end. They won 3-0 and there were 100%. I grew up with people saying that was the best thing I ever saw. You know? And so that's in the background there for George. He knows how that feels. He wants to replicate that feeling for his generation when he's a manager.

8:07And then he was a key part of Arsenal's double-winning side of 1970-71. Graham moved on to Manchester United in 1972. All told, approximately half of his appearances in English football were for the Gunners. So it's no surprise that when the chance for a reunion came to pass, both sides relished the opportunity to make it happen. His coaching career started quickly after his playing career ended. Graham tried to extend his playing days with a stint in the North American Soccer League in the United States, making 17 appearances for the California Surf in 1978. But upon his return to the UK, Graham became the youth team coach at Crystal Palace.

8:53Two years later, in October 1980, he took the same role at Queen's Park Rangers. Those positions opened the door to his first stint as a first-team senior manager with Millwall, an appointment he earned on December 6th, 1982. It wasn't glamorous because the team was at the bottom of the old third division, but Graham turned that Millwall side around quickly, helping the club avoid relegation on the final match of the season with a 1-0 win at Chesterfield. The following year, they finished ninth, and in 1984-85, they were promoted to the old second division. That run was enough to get him recognized as a top up-and-coming manager.

9:34And when Don Howe's caretaker turned permanent tenure at Arsenal ended with little accomplished, Graham's old club came calling, ultimately deciding on him after making a tentative offer to none other than Alex Ferguson. With that, the modern Arsenal era began.

9:58Amy Lawrence. When George Graham took over as Arsenal manager back in the mid-1980s, we didn't realise it at the time, but it didn't take more than two or three years for him to kind of be regarded essentially as the Messiah. You know, he... It was an unpredictable and not massively thrilling appointment, because there was some big names like Johan Cruyff and Terry Venables and so on being bandied about around the time when they went for George. And George was the manager of Millwall, who were in the second tier of English football. And yes, he was an ex-Arsenal player, which played massively in his favor, but he wasn't massively experienced at the top level.

10:46So in a funny kind of way, we talk about this. And as I say those words, little things go around in my head about Mikel Arteta, you know, which is vaguely compared. And they do share some traits, non-negotiables. George had a different word for it. George used to say standards, standards. That was his, you know, he was a tough manager, which was funny to people who knew him as a player because he'd been a kind of flamboyant, flair, good time guy known as the stroller for the way that he played football. But he turned up at the club and he just got hold of a dressing room that had become flaky and indulgent and took a very big broom and swept the hell out of that place until he created a team that was hungry and humble and together and desperate to win things.

11:50So he became a messiah because Arsenal won the league in the best way ever in 1989. And then they won it again in 91 in a slightly less dramatic way. But, you know, to win two titles out of three when you haven't won the league for 18 years was exceptional.

12:11Despite how it ended, there is no other way to describe the George Grimm era than as a massive success. Yes, his fresh perspective came at an important time. Arsenal had not won a trophy since the FA Cup in 1978-79, and were by all accounts falling out of consideration as a top team in the league. The previous four seasons were devoid of a top-five finish, and the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, and Everton continued to figure prominently in the English landscape every single year. It was a sliding doors moment for the club. There's no other way to describe it. Some might see that through the lens of missing out on Alex Ferguson, but Arsenal could have and did actually try to go in other directions as well.

12:58Landing on Graham then brought the team back into prominence. The former Gunners midfielder knew change was needed and began reshaping the roster. Out were familiar names like Paul Mariner and Stuart Robson. In came new signings and an infusion of youth players such as Tony Adams. The gaffer also became known for imposing a more disciplined approach, including the creation of a formal dress code on match day. Popular Arsenal midfielder, David Hillier. I think I know you've obviously interviewed Alan and Nigel but they were players that were brought into the club from other clubs so they were signed at a time when George, the gaffer I still call him gaffer, I can't call him George it's too formal too informal, I have to call him gaffer still but I think when they came in, they were part of the first team squad straight away but like I said I grew up schoolboys, apprentice, hoping to get a professional contract and then playing the reserves for a year, maybe two years, and then getting the first team.

14:12That was the kind of plan. And I had good people in front of me who had done it. Like I say, Merce, Mickey Thomas, Tony Adams had all gone through that system. But what was interesting when George came, he had three coaches. So he had Pat Rice doing the youth team. We had Tommy Coleman, I think it was, first of all, doing the reserves. And then Stuart and George doing the first team. And all of our training sessions were the same. So the youth team done exactly the same little sets as the reserves did and the first team, all in different areas of London Colony. And then sort of maybe one or two youth team players were promoted to the reserves for that week.

15:03One or two reserves were promoted to the first team squad. So you all got a little taster of what was the next level. But he had this process, like all the throw-ins were the same. We'd done the same throw-ins in the Southeast counties as the first team were doing on a Saturday at Highbury. you know so we had this development that we were kind of being drilled all the time drilled drilled drilled and i think from a homegrown player's point of view you just had to fulfill that criteria work really hard put 150 percent in and you had a chance of making to the next level you talk about the personalities that come in they were additions to the team that just made it explode into certain areas you know tony was homegrown but the gaffer brought in boldy who was a monster to play next to him um then he brought in lee dixon and nigel winterburn to replace uh kenny sanson and uh viv anderson i think was playing at right back just before and viv sort of like wanted to go just made his sort of start playing for england first first black lad to play for England and you know he was doing really well um so George had to replace these players because I think Viv was getting to a stage where he wanted a bit more money but he I'll bring Dicko in from Stoke and I can pay him a lot less you know and brought him into that system and and we had like key players he obviously brought Smithy in and we had Brian Marwood on the left and Perry on the right and all they was told to do was cross the ball the midfield were told just to get the ball to them, to cross the ball.

16:43So we had this very structured system, but we'd been working it through the three teams. So you kind of, you migrated to the next level and once you could cope with that pressure, he thought, you know, maybe you've got a chance of being in the first team. And I always said, I'm only ever two injuries away from playing a first team game. Because if the reserve central midfield player gets injured and Paul Davis gets injured, I'm playing. And that's basically what happened in the, I think it was the League Cup against, I want to say Shrewsbury Town back in 1990 when I broke through. But it was purely because I'd been brought up in a system where, listen, just do your job, keep your head down and let the personalities shine.

17:36Let them personalities have to, they have to be the standout people, you know, and we accepted that. And it was, you know, like I said, I've got a working mentality. So it was, it was, I loved it. I loved it.

17:56These changes brought immediate results and Graham's arsenal found themselves atop the league table at Christmas in 1986. It was the first time in a decade the club reached those heights. But the team wasn't ready to sustain that level of performance and ended Graham's first season as manager fourth in the table. There was glory in store in short order, however, as the team went on to win the 1987 League Cup, beating Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley on April 5th. The Graham era was off to the races and on a course that would deliver the most successful period in terms of domestic accomplishments. Much of that success, as we'll talk about in part six, was based on a defensive identity Graham built for the team around the homegrown Adams and the acquired talents of Lee Dixon, Steve Bold, and Nigel Winterburn, who would become known as the famous back four.

18:51By the end of Graham's third season, the 1988-89 campaign, Arsenal had won its first league title since 1971, a team for which Graham played. The final game of that season, a legendary contest that is often considered the greatest day in Arsenal history so far, took place at Anfield on May 26th, 1989. The Gunners needed two goals to win the league title. Golden boot winner Smudge Alan Smith delivered the first two in the 53rd minute. Then Mickey Thomas scored the defining goal with just seconds to go in stoppage time. And with that, Graham and Arsenal won the league. Arsenal won a second title in 1990-91 and reached the FA Cup semifinals, losing to none other than Tottenham Hotspur.

19:41They lost just one league game all season, their 24th match of the campaign against Chelsea on February 2nd, a team that has become known as the Almost Invincibles. Graham's success earned him consideration for the Liverpool job in February of 1991, but he pulled himself out of the running and continued on his path in North London. Then, in 92-93, they became the first side to win the FA Cup and League Cup Double, both times beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in the League Cup Final and 2-1 in the FA Cup Final replay. At a glance, the ledger reveals just how much domestic success Graham brought to the North End faithful.

20:27He found a winning formula, tweaked it as he learned, and racked up win after win in England. But he wanted more. Graham wanted European glory.

20:45long time arsenal fan tim stillman yeah so this is really george graham's reign splits quite evenly in in two halves and this is like the second yeah this is the second half of it where we stop challenging to win the league and we become a cup team and a lot of that falls out of the other context here of course is for the second half of the 1980s English teams aren't even allowed to compete in Europe so that puts English teams behind in terms of like thinking about winning this stuff you know you look at that that era of the 90s like not a lot of English teams were winning European like United won the cup winners cup I think in 91 and that's about it really so So in the 80s, you have this big kind of period of dominance and then English teams are kicked out of Europe for five years.

21:39So they come in on the back foot. So there's a context there that English teams weren't getting to finals in Europe. But what this triumph, this whole tournament is really defined by is what happened to Arsenal when they were in the European Cup in 1991. So they win the league in 1991 with this amazing team that scores loads of goals, that's really exciting you know limpar and rocastle on the wings and you know merson and smith and then they have all those players and they just suddenly buy ian wright all of that stuff that people unfairly don't align with george graham anymore but then they play benfica in the european cup in 91 92 and they lose and that really impacts what george graham wants to do next because he thinks they lose because they're too open basically so he really he kind of overreacts to that and it's really like right midfield we're not having two really exciting wingers anymore we you know more workmanlike players start to come into the team and the team starts to become Ian Wright and Paul Merson basically it's we're going to be solid we've got this amazing back four and goalkeeper midfield becomes a bit more workmanlike and then it's like we're going to be solid and we're going to hope that Paul Merson or Ian Wright do something to win us the game.

23:04But there's another critical piece of the puzzle that elevated the importance of European football for all of England, and then for Graham after the 8-9 domestic title. English teams weren't allowed to compete in European tournaments, and that ban was the result of a disaster driven by the height of English hooliganism and a dark period in football fandom in the country, it all reached a fever pitch in 1985 at both home and abroad. Domestically large-scale riots broke out in Luton during March of that year after a quarterfinal FA Cup tie between Millwall and Lutontown. May saw both the death of a 14-year-old boy at St.

23:48Andrews Stadium and the Bradford City Stadium fire. The end of that month is when the impacts of hooliganism reached abroad. On May 29th, Liverpool met Juventus at Heisel Stadium for the European Cup finals in Brussels. Just before kickoff, Liverpool fans broke through a line of police and ran towards opposing supporters in a section of the ground containing Italian fans. Many fans tried to escape the fighting, and a wall tragically collapsed on them. 39 people, mostly Italian and Juventus fans, were crushed to death. The incident became known as the Heisel Stadium disaster, and a resulting ban on English clubs from all European competitions ensued until 1990, with Liverpool banned for an additional year because of its direct role in the disaster.

24:39That meant Graham's team missed out on the European Cup in 1990 after defeating Liverpool, But after their 91-league title, the opportunity returned. It coincided with the introduction of new attacker Ian Wright, bought in some people's minds to tailor the team's tactical approach even more towards European competition. Long-time Arsenal physio, Gary Lewin. What you've also got to remember is in that period of time, I think it was 86, 87 when we were actually banned from Europe. And so the first few years in Georgie's reign, we didn't have European football. I think our first European game, we played Benfica in a knockout game.

25:23We got beat over two legs. And that was our first experience of European football in 91. And I think that experience of the Benfica game, going away and getting a really good 1-1 draw. but then not understanding the concept of away goals and then going out. I think that taught Georgia a lesson and the players. And then it's a case of just experiencing it. I mean, even international football in those days would be a one-off game on a Wednesday night. You wouldn't play the windows that we have now. And you wouldn't be going away for 10 days. You would play on a Sunday, Saturday or Sunday. We'd pull to the England squad or the international squad on the Sunday, play on the Wednesday back at the club on the Thursday.

26:07So what he was actually doing was it's extending that sort of program into domestic football. So what he then started feeling was players' recovery. We started talking about getting ready for the next game. We started talking about eating properly, staying in hotels, how we travelled. I mean, in the late 80s, early 90s, we went everywhere by coach. We wouldn't fly anywhere apart from Europe. I remember the day at Anfield in 89 we left the training ground at 9 o 'clock in the morning on a coach drove up to Liverpool had our lunch the boys went to bed had a pre-match meal won the league travelled back by coach and got back at silly hours in the morning all in one day so the whole way we worked and the way we prepared for games changed and also players attitude towards the games because you couldn't play a European game the way you'd play a league game, physically, mentally, tactically, it was completely different.

27:07But it took, obviously, the three years before we were successful in 94. But I also thought it was interesting that we started doing better in cup competitions. So winning the cup double for the first time in 93 probably showed how the emphasis was slightly changing to knockout football rather than domestic football.

27:30While it was anticipated with much fanfare, the result was a disappointment. Maybe as much or more for Graham than even the fans. They managed to sail through the first round, starting Europe off with a 6-1 defeat of Austria then at home on the back of four goals by Alan Smith on September 18th. They lost 1-0 on the away leg on October 2nd, but coasted to a 6-2 aggregate win, putting themselves in a second-round matchup with Portuguese giant Benfica. In that second round, the Gunners earned an initial draw against Benfica away from home, setting up what they believed would be a path to advance, with a return leg taking place at Highbury on November 6th, 1991.

28:14But Arsenal were eliminated from the tournament in dramatic fashion, getting to the end of regulation with both the game and the round tied at one. Extra time was devastating, however, as Benfica scored in both the 100th and 107th minute to win convincingly and end Graham's European dreams.

28:40Tim Stillman. Yep, definitely. And that really comes out of the Benfica defeat in the European Cup. I think it becomes quite obvious that, and again, in this day and age, yeah. And of course, in this day and age, like you get knocked out by Benfica, Arsenal would have gone back into the same competition the next year and they'd have just had another go at the Champions League. That's what happens now. Like you just get back into the Champions League and you try again. But when it's only the champions that get in, you don't get to do that. So this is the next go at it. and it comes on the back of Arsenal winning both domestic cups in 92-93 but having a poor league season which shows you direction of travel but we'd gotten used to Arsenal being a good cup team by winning those two domestic cups the year before so we're starting to see that become part of our identity in terms of Europe yes you could see the appetite was there and if you look back at i always remember this like the uh the end of season review video um i think it's just before arsenal play standard liage maybe they do a little interview with george graham it's really interesting about his insight where he talks about i mean to modern ears it will sound completely you know prehistoric but he's talking about yeah yeah you can pass and pass and pass all day but like you've got to get crosses in and shots in and stuff like that which which is still like absolutely true but obviously to like modern ears that would sound you know that would sound very prehistoric but like he's talking about like we're not going to play this like we used to play like he he was very demonstrative and and very honest about it and to be fair as well one of the things we were definitely known for was that back five as well so it wasn't really a big surprise that that was a strength that they wanted to lean into.

30:43If August brought initial domestic success, then September brought fixture congestion and, as you'd expect, a focus on the Cups that created mixed league results. A 1-1 draw on the first put the Gunners on beat and run at five games, while 10 days later on September 14th, a Kevin Campbell hat trick and Ian Wright goal gave Arsenal a 4-0 win over Ipswich.