A Gooners
LifeA Gooners
Life
1971
The earliest evidence I have of my Gooneristic
tendencies is a photo of me and my Dad (another
Gooner I'm afraid) heading off to Wembley for the FA Cup final against Liverpool
in 1971. Dad had already been to Spurs to see us win the league and now
we were on our way to see us win The
Double!.
1972
The following year we reached Wembley again. This
time against Leeds Utd. We went to the game and had our traditional
photo but this time we lost 1-0. That was it for a while....
After a a bit of a lean spell the lads got to Wembley again in 1978 (Lost to Ipswich 1-0), 1979 (Beat Man Utd 3-2 in a great game), and 1980 (This time we lost to West Ham 1-0). Due to the win in 1979 we got into the Cup Winners Cup. We drew Juventus of Italy in the semi-final with the first leg at home. It was a tough 1st leg which resulted in a 1-1 draw. The away leg was going to be tough. So my mate Eco and I decided that we would go and give our vocal support.
1980
After a packed ferry
crossing and a long train ride
to Turin, via Paris, and a nice day around
town we went to the ground where we were part of a small
contingent of Gooners (about 700) in a crowd of 70000. It was a tight
game where Juventus came out to defend there position. With away goals counting
double they only had to stop us scoring to go through to the final. It almost
worked but with a few minutes to go we scored against the odds and we all
went bonkers!!. And we won.We were in the final!
The Juventus supporters thought this was a good moment to attack us with bottles and bricks. With a bit of help from the police and a fair amount of tear gas we got back to the train and headed home happy.
The final was at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. My
Dad and I went as part of a travel club coach tour and stayed in a lovely
hotel in the centre of Brussels. After a good days sightseeing
we headed off to the game. Unfortunately it was not a great game and
we ended up losing on penalties. Good trip though.
Most of the 80s was a baron time for us gooners, until George Graham hit town that is!! Littlewoods cup winners in 1987, Littlewoods Cup runners up in 1988, League Champions in 1989 (Who will ever forget that last game of the season at Liverpool!), League Champions again in 1991, and then both League cup and FA cup winners in 1993.Wow.....
1994
It was that FA Cup victory
that took us back into the Cup Winners Cup in 1994. It was a tough ride
through the rounds but we got to final again. This time in Copenhagen against
Parma. My Dad and I decided to go on a long 3 day coach trip. We has a brilliant
time, Arsenal winning 1-0 with a goal from Alan Smith. I took my camera
as usual and took some great pics Arsenal v Parma
1994.
1995
As
winners of the cup we automatically qualified for the following years competition.
We managed to get to the final again and, as it was in Paris this time,
we went on a short 2 day trip. We had a great day in Paris seeing all the
sights. The game was not that good and we ended up losing to a last minute
goal by Nayim, from the Halfway line. Gutted we were. Still I got some nice
pics of the trip. Arsenal v
Real Zaragoza 1995
1998
One of the greatest moments in my life was Arsenal winning the League and Cup Double in 1998. So have a look at some great photos of the Double Parade around Islington. I took my Dad to have photos taken with the two cups. I had one taken on my own and a joint one with my Dad.
1999
A year on and we
reached the F.A. Cup semi-final again. This time against our deadly rivals
Manchester Utd at Villa Park. Before the game we were lucky enough to see
the cup itself in the car park and had a couple of pictures taken with it.
Inside the ground we were at the back of the Holt end, but the view was
great. A sea of gooners yellow.
What a beautiful sight!!. The game was a 0-0 draw.
After the game we were in our car and got caught in a gang of 200 Man Utd thugs. Thanks to them got a nice dent in the side of my car.
I couldn't get to the replay which turned out to be a thriller. We unfortunately lost 2-1.
We then turned our attention back to the league. It all hung on the last game of the season. Man Utd had to beat Spurs (Laugh!), and we had to beat Aston Villa at home. I took my camera just in case. We managed to beat Villa but unfortunately Spurs were crap as usual and they lost. So we came 2nd by one point.
I know these pictures are not strictly travels but what the hell, it was a good day (Almost). Have a look at the pictures of the last game v Aston Villa.
2000
We made it to the UEFA cup final against Galatasaray in Copenhagen on Wednesday 17th May. Another great occasion in the history of the Gunners. So Dad and I set off with the Travel Club packing, of course, my trusty camera.
We arrived in the centre of Copenhagen at about 10am so we had the whole day ahead of us. So we headed off for a spot of sight-seeing. It was a hot sunny day and the town was really nice (despite being full of Arsenal and Galatasaray fans). We stopped by the Harbour for lunch where we chatted to Turkish fans at the tables outside. It was a really friendly atmosphere.
We worked our way back to the main Town Hall Square where things were looking a bit dodgy to say the least. So we popped into the Tivoli gardens and missed the rough stuff.
As we all know the game was a big disappointment. We didn't play well. Losing on penalties is becoming a bad habit. The Pom Pom dancing girls were good though!!
Anyway, I still managed to take some great photos of the occasion. So take a look.
2001
Sunday 8th
April, Old Trafford Manchester, FA Cup semi-final, Arsenal v Spurs!
Wow, what a day. Got to Old Trafford (what a dump) an hour before kick off and took up our position down by the touchline. The Gooners were in great form, the excitement building up.
The lads started off in good style and we were the only team in it so it was a bit of a shock to find ourselves one down after 14 minutes with a goal from Doherty.
With the fans urging them on the Red Tide swept forward and we soon equalise with a great header from Patrick Vieira on 33 minutes. That's how it was at half time.
The second half was so much Arsenal it was almost embarrassing. It was no real suprise when we went ahead with a fantastic goal from Pires. Cue Hysteria.
With the final whistle we were in the final, and at Spurs expense. It doesn't get much better than that!
A few weeks later, after
a visit to the Peak District, I took my girlfriend to the away match at
Derby on the 28th April.
As always the Gooners had a great crowd. It wasn't the best game we had played but with goals from Kanu and Pires we sealed victory and another three points. A great end to a holiday that!!
Saturday 12th May,
Cardiff, FA Cup Final, Arsenal v Liverpool. Should have been a great day.
Wasn't.
My trusty camera captured it all.
E-Mail me
To Menu
My Links
 |
Want To join The ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB Webring ? Member : Gaz. The ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB Webring is powered by www.webring.org |
|
