Time to curb player power

When Tottenham played their first league match of the season against Man Utd it wasn’t a surprise they lost – Man Utd have finished above Tottenham in the league every year since . . . I dunno, the last Ice Age, probably. But the Spuds were forced to play without one of their best players,…

A Letter to the Board

This letter was written by Gooner ex-pat Clive Hill, former season ticket holder, and sent to the AFC Board in the aftermath of the 8-2 defeat at Manchester United. One month on, Clive has not had any reply. With the club’s AGM imminent, it is perhaps a timely reminder of the feelings of many fans…

In The Away End: Arsenal v Leeds, 1977

From The Gooner, issue 114, September 2001: I got my love of Arsenal from my dad, a lifelong supporter himself. My younger brother was also brought up correctly, but my sister, two years older than me, decided she had to be different. As soon as I was into football in a big way she looked…

Sam Allardyce: An Appreciation

On Friday, Evening Standard readers were treated to an exclusive column by Fat Sam Allardyce – oh what joy! What have we done to deserve such favour? Regular readers of The Gooner will know my opinion of Fat Sam is so low it’s barely measurable. Fat Sam professes West Ham to be ‘lucky’ that they…

Reasons Arsenal are STILL better than Spurs

In 2006 a few Gooner writers and the Editor got together to bounce ideas around for the magazine, and I suggested “101 Reasons Why Arsenal Are Better Than Spurs”. Brian Dawes (@Gooner48) immediately said, “No – 1,961 reasons!” So that’s what we did. The feature ran for a couple of seasons on the Gooner’s inside…

Football Hairstyles Through The Ages

This was published in The Gooner issue 101 in January 2000. In 1971 Charlie George was trying to look like David Bowie. But then in those days a lot of young footballers wanted to look like rock stars. George Best started it a few years earlier, when he rejected the footballer’s regulation short back and…