Robert Exley
‘Icon’ according to most dictionary definitions is a word that means ‘An important and enduring symbol, representation or picture of a sacred or sanctified personage, traditionally venerated’. Arsenal are a side who have spent every season since the first world war in the top division of English football and more often than not in the top half of that select elite, therefore you’d think several contenders for the prize of Arsenal’s most iconic post war hero. There is a strong argument however that this title belongs to David Rocastle. The reasons why however are not as clear as one might imagine they would be for choosing the equivalent icon of say Liverpool, Man Utd, Tottenham or Chelsea.
There is no doubting that Rocky was a tremendously skilful player, it is doubtful though that he would make the all-time greatest Arsenal XI, being that we have had players like Henry, Brady, Pires, Bergkamp and Vieira who were strong contenders as the world’s best player in their respective positions during their era – something you probably wouldn’t have said of Rocastle in the late 80s/early 90s. Of course his tragic early demise may also be cited as a possible reason for acquiring this title – though in Alan Ball and George Armstrong we’ve also had players who passed on relatively early. Also, Rocky also still commanded huge respect from Arsenal fans in the nine year period between his leaving Highbury and his untimely death, as shown by the standing ovation on his Highbury return as a substitute during a hard fought FA Cup tie with Leeds in 1993 where Arsenal were clawing back a two goal deficit. True, we usually show respect when a former hero lines up against us, though it wasn’t always a guarantee as his contemporary Mickey Thomas had been booed when lining up for Liverpool against Arsenal just twelve months earlier.
Rocky was a black footballer back in the days when they were a rarity in the English game, however he was far from the first Afro-Caribbean Gooner – Brendan Batson pre-dates Rocky to this honour by twelve and a half years prior to Rocky’s debut in an Arsenal shirt. Others have also remarked how he was Arsenal’s only skilful player at a time when dour football was the order of the day. This too is however wide of the mark as among Rocky’s contemporaries, Charlie Nicholas, Michael Thomas, Paul Davis, Brian Marwood and Anders Limpar could all play a bit too. If anything the dour football followed his departure in 1992. Also, with regards to longevity on the pitch Rocky falls a long way below the ‘Mr Arsenal’ category of George Armstrong, David O’Leary, Tony Adams, even Ray Parlour. What then is the secret behind the Rocky phenomenon, as he certainly encapsulates something Gooners have long since held dear.
David Rocastle first lined up for Arsenal early in 1985/86, a period one year short of the current trophy drought; however the quality of the produce on show was far inferior to that of today. Even though it barely cost much to enter Highbury and people could freely sing, stand and consume alcohol at the ground the air around, Highbury had been a very ramose one. That summer saw no signings whatsoever, let alone big name signings to excite the faithful. Not that another big name player was something that we were crying out for, on the day Rocky lined up alongside seven players capped by the home nations and two European Cup winners on big wages, though they were derided as the ‘song and dance’ brigade in Jon Spurling’s written account of Arsenal in the 80s - ‘All Guns Blazing’. Spurling also attributes the slow trickle through of youth around the turn of the year as the beginnings of the modern era of Arsenal as a trophy winning outfit, coming to fruition in 1987 via Rocky’s semi-final winner at the Lane. Rocky therefore is intertwined in the minds of many with the youthful invigoration of Arsenal from around the mid-80s onwards seeing the process through to success at the end of the decade, though unlike say Tony Adams, he was not associated with later successes as a ripened professional. He played his final Arsenal game the very day he reached his quarter of a century landmark birthday, therefore Rocky’s image in the Red & White of Arsenal remains forever young.
The period of Rocky’s debut off the pitch also plays some significance behind his symbolism not just to Arsenal fans but many others outside of Highbury. The week that followed September 28th 1985 was one that has social significance in both Rocky’s native South London with the Brixton Riots and a week later four miles from his adopted North London spiritual home at the Broadwater Farm Estate. As part of the first generation of Afro-Caribbean kids born in England to West Indian migrant parents, Rocky had been a part of a beleaguered section of the population. Anyone wishing to acquire some insight over 25 years on would do well to view the 1976 British feature film ‘Pressure’. Though 1985, almost a decade on from this time piece movie, saw an even worse state of affairs with young black unemployment rising to as high as 55%, as well as the ‘Sus Laws’ resulting from police exemption from the 1976 Race Relations Act, which meant that black youth had felt themselves to be unjustly targeted and criminalised by the police. The fallout from the horrific events of that week with PC Blakelock’s murder saw black youth collectively demonised further in the nation’s press with the ‘bogey man’ image of Winston Silcott’s police photo shot often dominating the front pages.
However as young Rocky came to prominence at Arsenal at roughly the same time as Broadwater Farm’s aftermath, he cut a rather human figure that contradicted the often dehumanising folk devil built up in the public imagination toward his Afro-Caribbean peer group in the right-leaning popular press. If Rocky himself ever went on record expressing any political or social opinions, other than along with Michael Thomas endorsing former Arsenal educational adviser and mentor to the youth players, Kate Howey as the Labour candidate in the Vauxhall by-election of 1989, then I can neither recall nor retrieve it. Often however, a well-balanced individual can defeat social prejudice merely by being themselves in a way which is equally as effective as any grand gesture. Times Journalist Martin Samuel once recalled a post-match conversation with David Rocastle in Miami after the ‘unofficial World Club championship’ match against Argentinian side Independiente in 1989, where he informed him that the opposition players only seemed to know one English word – N*****, which he believed they had learned especially for the occasion. Rocky’s measured response however was a top class performance, scoring two goals in the process as Arsenal won 2-1 in a temperature that topped 100 degrees in the Florida summer sun.
At Highbury itself, Arsenal had not suffered from the National Front element among its fans to the same extent as other London clubs had done during this period. However to say that we had been totally immune would be equally misleading. Sean Hanson’s When Saturday Comes article on Rocky’s passing a decade ago had made the claim that ‘black players, such as Chris Whyte and Paul Davis, would occasionally bear the brunt of the crowd’s anger after another pedestrian performance’ from the early 80s side and that ‘one game in particular when a couple of old gits wheedled and whined beside me about how the Arsenal was just not the same now, and it was obvious that we were crap if we had to rely on picking “darkies”.
David Rocastle however quickly became a North Bank hero not long after his introduction to the first team. Also, for someone still in his teenage years whose prospects were far greater than the vast majority of his peer group regardless of their ethnicity, he seemed to possess an astonishingly grounded persona. Rocky, who lost his own father when he was only five, came from a tight knit but not very well off family who were greatly aided by his new found income as pro footballer. He also was the founding member of a low key footballing family dynasty – his cousin Craig played for Chelsea and was part of a Kansas City Wizards side that beat Man. Utd last pre-season. Also his brother Stephen was on Norwich City’s books. Also while the ‘Tuesday club’ lived it up during Arsenal’s period of success, Rocky himself was a family man relatively early, his first child Melissa born during Arsenal’s first title year in 1989 when he was only 22.
Despite his silky skills Rocky was also no luxury player, he never shirked from the battle when up against the tough tacklers of the era like Steve McMahon or Stuart Pearce and always nailed his colours to the mast when the going got tough. As this season we reel from two Old Trafford defeats where Arsenal lack the competitive spark to such an extent that Alex Ferguson can’t be bothered to hate us anymore, it is worth remembering Rocky was there at Ground Zero when the United-Arsenal A-bomb and its eighteen year fall out first detonated. In January 1987 Rocky was sent off for the only time in his career for retaliating to a foul by Norman Whiteside. Even Fergie admits in hindsight that ‘it was one of those games when big Norman did about 45 fouls and never got booked. How he got away with it I’ll never know’. Nearly three years on Rocky also played a part in the 21 man battle of Old Trafford, instances of violent conduct with Rocky however were rare. Of 1990’s ‘Battle of Old Trafford he explains in mitigation that ‘It was our team-mate, our little blood brother, in trouble. They were kicking Nigel (Winterburn) like a nightclub brawl. That's what got us upset. If it was just a bad tackle, you wouldn't go in like that, no chance. But when I saw them kicking Nigel I ran over thinking, 'You can't have this!' We went in there and we stuck up for each other. One also needs to see Rocky’s battling qualities within the context of prevailing attitudes of the era – as late as 1993 Crystal Palace chairman Ron Noades had still felt comfortable explaining that ‘while black players were effective in temperate weather, in winter you need a few of the maybe hard white men to carry the artistic black players through’.
At the age of 22 the 1989 title win at Anfield looked like it would be the first of many. As this was also the era of the post-Heysel ban, many sides on the continent took an interest in trying to lure English talent away with the promise of European Football. European champions AC Milan according to reports had took an interest in Rocky around this time, as too did a Marseille side fresh from stealing Chris Waddle away from White Hart Lane. Sadly though, Anfield ‘89 turned out to be the zenith of Rocastle’s career. After scoring on the opening day of the 1989/90 season, he failed to find the net again until the penultimate game of the season. At Millwall in November of that season he also cheated death thanks to lifesaving treatment from Gary Lewin after swallowing his tongue as a result of an accidental collision with future Arsenal player Jimmy Carter. He was dropped from the side in late December due to poor form, but was praised by George Graham when earning a recall the following month for his response to being axed; however an injury late on in the season denied him the opportunity to impress Bobby Robson for a place at Italia 90. Though Arsenal regained the title again in 1990/91, injury and poor form struck and Rocky clearly expressed his frustration at watching victory from the side lines on that year’s end of season video.
Luckily the 1991/92 season, his final season at Highbury, turned out to be the Rocky ‘Renaissance’ year, allowing Rocastle to exit on a relative high. He had regained his first team place back after he was switched to a central midfield position, turning out noted performances such as his tremendous chip of Peter Schmeichelat Old Trafford. An England recall also followed, though he failed to receive a call up for what turned out to be England’s disastrous group phase exit at Euro ‘92. After assessing the long term effects of Rocky’s knee, as well as revamping Arsenal’s style of play George Graham saw Rocky as surplus to requirements at Highbury. Players recalled a long conversation between the two in George’s car at London Colney where Rocky exited the vehicle in tears after being informed that GG had accepted a £2million bid from Leeds Utd.
The next six years saw Rocky also turn out for Man City and Chelsea as well as loan spells at Norwich and Hull, plus a spell in Malaysia. However seeing Rocky in anything other than Arsenal shirt never looked right in the eyes of a Gooner, he did however spare us the trauma of seeing him in a Tottenham shirt. They put forward an offer back in 1993, but even though he failed to make a breakthrough at Leeds he flatly refused to talk to Spurs out of respect for Arsenal fans. Ironically his passing in 2001 came on the morning of a North London Derby, and his death was announced by former team mate Ian Wright on his Radio Five live show. A childhood friend of Rocastle, Wrighty broke down in tears on air. The minute’s silence in his honour later that day was impeccably observed by all at Highbury, including the lilywhites - which just goes to show that 31st March 2001 saw the passing of no ordinary Gooner, or for that matter no ordinary footballer. The following Monday, Michael Hart in the London Evening Standard described Rocky as ‘a throwback to a bygone age; a young footballer who retained a charm and sense of perspective at a time when the egotists were about to take over the dressing rooms’, which if anything comes the closest to neatly answering the question as to why of all the talent who have turned out in an Arsenal shirt for the last 65 years, it is David Rocastle who is Arsenal’s most iconic player of the post war era.
