Graham Perry
Dear Fellow Gunners
A word of caution as we enter the Christmas and New Year fixture list. Arsenal are flavour of the month.
Read any paper and they are all extolling Arsenal’s recent good run and making predictions about the title. That is not a surprise and many of us have been thinking the same thing but the media oscillates between boom and bust. One day they talk up our title credentials and the next day they questions the Club’s collective mental resilience to get us across the finishing line.
Actually each of us is struggling as well – in the past we have flattered to deceive so doubts will persist until we actually win the title.
Put all of that to one side for a few minutes because I have a different Arsenal topic to raise and one that touches the nerve of the commitment of each of us to Arsenal, The Gooners, The Gunners, whatever.
It starts with a reference in the Programme for the Man City match on page 13 in the Voice of Arsenal column that pays tribute to Ernie Crouch who died while on his way to the home match against Sunderland. The granddaughter, Hannah, penned a tribute to Ernie who, she informs us, started supporting Arsenal FC in 1935 when aged 10 years old. Ernie was a milkman and his work made it difficult for him to get to watch as many matches as he wanted. However on his retirement in 1990 he made up for time lost “not missing any home or away games (except through injury) and he then added ladies, reserves and youth team games.” Ernie left behind two sons, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The article carries a picture of Ernie proudly wearing an Arsenal scarf.
There are many Ernie Crouches – people who have an interest in Arsenal which turns into a commitment and then a lifelong love affair. We go to the matches. We take family members. We make friends. We cheer and shout and celebrate. We also curse and moan and criticise. We do all this as individuals but it multiplies across ages and generations and social groups and catches people from all walks of life and from all ethnic origins. This is Society. This is Community. Mrs Thatcher said “There is no such thing as Society”. She was so wrong. It exists in many different forms – football is just one of them and we give vent to its expression when we celebrate a great result or mourn a significant death. One of the great moments at any football club and especially at Arsenal FC occurs when 60,000 of us bow our heads in respectful silence on the death of a former player whose performances touched our hearts.
In the midst of all the recrimination about a team selection that went wrong or a signing that has not failed to fulfil his potential or simply a poor result we can overlook the thread that connects us all. We belong. And it is good to pause and reflect and remember. We all have loved ones with whom we shared Arsenal moments who have passed away. People we would love to meet with again and tell them of Theo’s goal or Ozil’s assists or Hector’s emergence. In turn they would tell us about Alex James goal in the 1930 FA Cup Final, Jimmy Logie measured passes and Joe Baker’s punch on Ron Yeats’ jaw. And so it goes on and on. Football touches a chord. Arsenal touches a nerve and all this comes together when we read the comments about Ernie Crouch.
Not quite the same vein but linked to this I want to make a comment about Jon Sammels. He was in the squad that did the Double in 1971 under Bertie Mee. Sammels was Arsenal through and through. He progressed up the ranks along with John Radford and Peter Storey. He scored some great goals – the most memorable being the third goal in the second leg match at Highbury in the Inter-City Fairs Cup in April 1970 which was for many of us the greatest night at Highbury. He pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area and smashed it into the back of the net. Sammels’ days at Arsenal ended sadly. He was picked upon by the boo boys and it affected his confidence. He left Arsenal after we won the Double and joined Leicester City where he saw out his career. He then became a driving instructor. I never knew him but we did meet on one occasion. It was the funeral of Bertie Mee, a number of players were there and there was a moment to approach Jon and to exchange some warm words about his time at Arsenal. He was so grateful, so appreciative. He had driven down from Leicester that morning and wanted to pay his respects to a manager he much respected. He remained upset about the treatment he received from some sections of the crowd but it never interfered with his love for Arsenal FC. Sammels may never have played at full international level for England though he did at Under 23 level but he was – and is - a big man and I hope we will see him again at the Emirates when we can with big applause put right the wrong that was done to him.
His experience reminds us that crowds can sometimes become unpleasant and play their part in destroying the confidence of well intentioned player going through a bad spell. Does Eboue come to mind and are there others who have been badly treated? If we are a Community we need to remember with gratitude everyone who tries their best. In life we all perform at different levels but if the commitment is there we should encourage and praise. I am not a religious person but I always remember the words of one of the hymns we sang at school – “slow to chide and quick to praise”.
*You can follow my tweets @arsenalcircular
