by Amy Lawrence
DAVID DEIN:
When I joined the board in 83 I would always go and see the youth team play in the morning at London Colney and then double back to Highbury to see the first team play. I remember coming back and telling the family, do you know we’ve got a player who could be a Brazilian player playing for us and he comes from South London. He’s got so much talent. Such wonderful skill. Such balance. Such technique. That was David Rocastle. He was something that every manager would crave for because he was very loyal, quite apart from his technique and his skill. Above all that he was just a natural winner. If he was your son you’d be proud of him because he was just a very genuine boy.
DAVID MILES:
We grew up with him. He joined Arsenal as a 16-year-old and at the time, as all the apprentices did in those days, he actually used to spend one afternoon a week working in one of the offices and they trained a lot more at Highbury than the teams do now. So we all became friends. I remember one day I had a knock on my office door and he poked his head round and asked to use the club phone. They weren’t allowed to use club phones. When I was assistant secretary, I had a small office. ‘Don’t tell George but can I use your club phone?’ Yeah, come on quick. He was phoning one of the footwear manufacturers because he’d just broken into the England under-16 team and they’d offered him a pair of boots. He was just so grateful that this football manufacturer had offered him a free pair of boots. That was the mark of the man. He was very humble.
LYNNE CHANEY:
It is still raw. I still feel sad. He was so lovely, and his family are just amazing. You can see their personality comes from him.
IAIN COOK:
His daughter Melissa has been working at the club. The other day one of the lads I work with asked who she was. I said ‘Oh, that’s Melissa. She’s just started working with us. I used to work with her dad a few years ago at Highbury.’ He said, ‘What did he do then?’ I said, ‘Well, he wore the number 7 shirt for a few years …’
DAVID O’LEARY:
The memory of him is ultimately one of the loveliest people you’d ever meet. We shared the same birthday. We used to go out a few times on our birthday. His family have turned out to be what he was – fantastic. His son rang me up to do something for the Arsenal magazine and I was thinking, Ryan Rocastle, how proud his dad would be of him. You lose the good people too early in life and we certainly lost him too early. I remember him as David the great fella really.
MICHAEL THOMAS:
I come from Stockwell. Dave’s from Bermondsey. Both true South London boys at this massive club Arsenal. What could be any better? With my daughter, who at that time was a little baby, and David Rocastle’s daughter. We were family.
IAN WRIGHT:
I grew up on the Honor Oak estate with David Rocastle and everyone watched out for him. He was our own. It was amazing. When he was 12 and we were 16 he’d get the ball, zig-zag through the whole team and then jog back. They have the David Rocastle Way there now and I am very proud of that. David was the one who blasted it out and made you realise, yes, you can come from an estate in Brockley and be a world star. From the age of 15 or 16 he was going up on the bus. It didn’t happen to people where we came from, people signing for a club like that. The whole estate started to support Arsenal. I was four years older than him and once we both started playing professionally we got very close.
That game in 89 was David’s favourite moment. Easily. I remember him talking about how much he loved playing at Anfield. He said it’s the best place ever to play football. Even that night the Liverpool fans were so knowledgeable and so appreciative, even applauding the Arsenal players. He mentioned that. It meant a lot to him.
For drama, Agüero’s goal when Man City won it late was a fantastic finish. It’s what you watch football for, those moments where it all turns around. But there was something about 89. It was nighttime, Arsenal going in thinking they weren’t going to win it, all these young players together with my friend being out on the pitch. It’s easily the best finish I have ever seen in a football match. Ever.
Mickey finishes it with the most deft, beautiful touch, which for me is one of the most difficult finishes in that situation you could do. If I had time, through on goal, I would have thought how to finish this and I would not have done that, especially after missing the chance that came before. I’d want to make sure. The stars aligned for Arsenal in that game. His instinct took over.
It’s a deep feeling how I felt after that goal. After the pandemonium, when the ball went back to the centre circle, I just remember sitting there and thinking, David is going to be a champion. A winner. When the whistle went I burst into tears because I realised, when he used to stop me on the bridge and say, you can achieve anything you want … When it comes to David and these kind of moments the enormity of the love we had and the time we shared is so strong. To see him in his moment of triumph after inspiring me to stop smoking weed, to stop messing around, to stop doing stupid things and focus on winning in life, to see him when they blew the whistle, I felt like I had done it. I was at Crystal Palace at the time and he was my friend. Later when I spoke to him he was beside himself. Arsenal had done it. Arsenal had broken the stranglehold that Liverpool had on the league. People talk about statues, there should be a bronze piece with all their faces cast, some recognition for that young team and what George did. For me it is the number one moment in Arsenal history. I don’t care what anyone says.
The game gives you hope. What that game said to me is: you can never give up. You can achieve whatever you want.
1. ‘It’s hard to explain how or why but everything felt brilliant that day. Standing outside the coach convoy in the blazing sunshine. So much naive hope in the air.’ Amy Lawrence (Spot the author in the photo)
2. ‘There was no room on the bench. It was suggested the safest place to go was in the section where the Arsenal fans were segregated from the Liverpool fans. Footballers weren’t as fussy then. We just followed orders’. Niall Quinn
3. ‘We were all lined up with these flowers and when we’d done our wave I remember sprinting off to the Kop end. There was a lady near the corner flag and I ran over and gave them to her. I remember the emotion of actually passing the flowers over.’ Lee Dixon
4. ‘There was always a great atmosphere at Anfield. It was doubly so that night. It was just charged.’ Alan Smith
5. ‘I might be built like it but I’m not really a physical person. I like to nick balls and try and win balls but not that way. I used to like watching Rocky smash into people. Ha ha ha. It was good to see him and Tony and Bouldy. Oh, they were immense.’ Michael Thomas
6. ‘We’d practised that free-kick so much in training and it had never worked in a match. Nigel swings it in with his left foot. Then me, Bouldy and Tony are lined up. I lost my man and got my head to the ball. I followed through, bumped into Steve Staunton and swivelled round to go to the crowd. Ah! Our section going absolutely ballistic. Oh my God.’ Alan Smith
7. ‘I’m thinking now, this is my time. I’m going to score this. Ray Houghton was so close. I had no idea he was that close. It is scary. My heart beats even now with the tension every time I see it.’ Michael Thomas
8. ‘If there’s one player in the whole of the team that you would want to go through one on one with the keeper with a minute to go when he’s just missed a sitter ten minutes before, I would say Mickey Thomas. Because if he did miss he wouldn’t give a shit.’ Paul Merson
9. ‘I’m off. It hasn’t even gone in the net. Whoomph. Straight across the goal. I’m already celebrating.’ Nigel Winterburn
10. ‘It was nice to be a part of history in the making. It meant so much to us all. We fought together, cried together and this one was obviously a big one – to win it and to feel we were all part of it. It’s a brotherhood. Nothing ever better for me.’ Michael Thomas
11. ‘I’m going to say it was the best. I happened to be there. I get so many people even to this day who talk about it. It’s
iconic. It’s just a moment in time.’ Tony Adams
12. ‘It was our moment and it was meant to be. Just the euphoria of it all. It’s a monumental thing to win the league. For Liverpool, to have it snatched out of your hands in the final kick of a football match and to have that about you to actually be able to rise above that and congratulate the other team. That takes a lot of doing.’ John Lukic
13. ‘I was in a state of shock. Honestly. I could not believe it. I thought it was an unreal situation, a fairy tale.’ George Graham
14. ‘I was tearful. I couldn’t wait to go in and see Pat Rice in the dressing room afterwards. I’d heard it all from him about how they had gone over to Tottenham and won the league. I remember him even saying beforehand “It’s about time you got a medal. It’s about time you went and done the business’.’’ David O’Leary
15. ‘To bring the trophy back to London for the first time since 1971. It was fantastic.’ Michael Thomas
16. ‘Two of the biggest teams in the country, away from home, you’re going to go and play five at the back and it was a good option. George kept us normal. It’s just another game. Just perfect. As I remember it he called every shot right.’ Tony Adams
17. ‘I come from Stockwell. Dave’s from Bermondsey. Both true South London boys at this massive club Arsenal. What could be any better? With my daughter, who at that time was a little baby, and David Rocastle’s daughter. We were family.’ Michael Thomas
18. ‘It’s a beautiful, beautiful trophy. Absolutely stunning. I remember looking at it going, wow. The lights of Anfield shone and it all started to flood into the system. I remember holding it up and from then onwards I’ve no clue what was going on. You just go mad but it was quite surreal in the dressing room because it wasn’t expected.’ Lee Dixon
19. ‘We’re all at the back of the coach singing songs and banging the window at people who were beeping their horn. “Look at this lot over here!” We’d all go over to the side of the coach, waving. People were hanging out car windows. Stood out the top of sunroofs. They’d slow down and they’d overtake again and were waving again and it was brilliant.’ Alan Smith
20. ‘I didn’t realise what we had actually achieved until we did the open-top bus on the Sunday and then you start to realise you are league champions. That means something pretty special.’ Nigel Winterburn
21. ‘I knew the guys in Winners, a club in Southgate. I knew they would put on a decent night for us but in those days I had to run out and ring ahead from a call box to ask if they would look after us when the lads got back. By the time we got there word got around and there were huge crowds outside. It was like Hollywood movie stars trying to get into a premiere. We got in there and it was pandemonium.’ Niall Quinn
22. ‘Isn’t it lovely to have moments in your life where you think, oh, nothing can beat that. Nothing.’ George Graham
In memory of the 96, of Rocky, and of my aunt Gill, who set the best example to always dive head first into adventures.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have to start by thanking the squad who gave me my favourite sporting moment ever. George Graham initially wasn’t sure he wanted to go back over old ground but ended up, at our first meeting over a coffee, demonstrating tactical strategies with pieces of cutlery and condiments, with that unmistakable twinkle in his eye. I hope that the retelling of this story has reminded people of his status in the Arsenal pantheon.
Thanks to all the players for the wonderful part they played then and now, and I am indebted to those who shared such wonderful memories to reignite the spirit of 89 in film and book form – John Lukic, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Tony Adams (captain), Steve Bould, David O’Leary, Michael Thomas, Paul Davis, Alan Smith, Paul Merson, Perry Groves and Niall Quinn.
No book is possible without behind-the-scenes advice and backing, and it has been such a pleasure to work again with Ben Brusey and the team at Century, Penguin Random House, whose commitment to this never wavered. David Luxton proved a wise head and calm shoulder to lean on when very much needed.
I have to single out Lee Dixon for going that extra mile. He has been a driving force in all of this ever since he picked up the phone to have a conversation about doing something on his favourite subject. His attitude was full throttle. What can I do to help? How involved can I be? He became the most motivated right-back-cum-executive-producer in the history of football documentaries. Thanks to Lee and the rest of the outstanding 89 crew – Davie Stewart, Paul Albert, Sam Billinge et al – and the team at Universal Pictures for helping to create the film and by extension this book. Thanks also to Adam Valasco for the first piece of the jigsaw.
It was extra special to have the wider support of the Dixons, Rocastles, Smiths and Thomases, whose wives, parents and children enjoyed being part of this ride and proved again what a family this group was and still is.
The supporting cast was also outstanding. Eternal thanks to Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Bob Wilson, Pat Rice, Theo Foley, Gary Lewin, Nick Hornby, Alan Davies, Dermot O’Leary, Nick Callow, Darren Epstein, Dave Hutchinson, David Dein, David Miles, Lynne Chaney, Jo Harney, Iain Cook, Paul Johnson, Jim Rosenthal, David Pleat, Jeff Foulser, Stuart Macfarlane, Mark Leech, Andy Cowie and Laura Lawrence.
I am immensely grateful to everybody interviewed – from referees to photographers behind the goal, from staff who have spent their entire working lives at Highbury to ordinary fans – for their time and their treasure trove of memories. A special hand of friendship goes out to the Liverpool supporters who felt able to recall their own feelings from a desperately difficult time.
Finally, a 30-year-old thank you to Matthew, my brother, who covered for me that night to keep the parents off the scent while he stayed at home and I disappeared to Anfield. I will forever remember being greeted by the hug we shared at the bottom of the road at whatever o’clock when I got back.
INDEX
The page references in this index correspond to the print edition from which this ebook was created, and clicking on them will take you to the the location in the ebook where the equivalent print page would begin. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
Ablett, Gary, 21
Abrahams, Eugene, 206
acid house, 142
Adams, Ross, 152
Adams, Tony ‘Rodders’ 3, 5, 16, 21, 44, 56, 58, 100–102, 259
at Atlantic Tower hotel, 20
on back three/five, 96, 98, 99
blazer, 222
Bould, relationship with, 64, 101
card games, playing of, 20
celebrations, 222, 251
Dixon, relationship with, 60, 100, 101–2
donkey chant, 100, 102
European Championship (1988), 64
flowers, laying of, 35, 36
Graham, relationship with, 43, 63, 64, 65, 133
on Hillsborough disaster (15 April 1989), 115
on Liverpool, 71, 74
Liverpool match (5 April 1987), 57–8
Liverpool match (26 May 1989), 160, 162–3, 164, 171–2, 174, 182, 183, 190–91, 193, 206
Luton match (24 April 1988), 150
Manchester City match (25 April 1987), 90
Manchester United match (2 April 1989), 99
Merson, relationship with, 100
Millwall match (11 February 1989), 93–4
Nottingham Forest match (6 November 1988), 90
O’Leary, relationship with, 101
open-top bus parade, 254
and snooker, 251
Sunderland match (5 November 1983), 99
on team coach, 19, 28
on Tottenham, 89
on unit, working as, 68
Wimbledon match (17 May 1989), 128
at Winners club, 222
Winterburn, relationship with, 60, 101
on youth team, 46–7, 48
Agüero, Sergio, 260, 274
Aldridge, John, 96, 236, 252
Amsterdam, Netherla
nds, 205
Anderson, Vivian, 45, 56, 81, 84
Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, 71, 78, 91
Kop, 9, 27, 34, 35, 36, 140, 147
old boys’ pen, 143
Antonioni, Peter, 239
apprenticeship system, 22
Arsenal vs Liverpool (26 May 1989), 1–2, 3–5, 7–12, 15–37, 130–269
Souness ‘Men Against Boys’ interview, 19–20
team coach journey, 18–19, 28
Atlantic Tower hotel lunch and meeting, 20–21