Every March 31st we have an unwanted anniversary, that being the passing of David Carlyle Rocastle or ‘Rocky’ as he was affectionately known by the fans and old colleagues from Arsenal Football Club. I write again as this anniversary occurs in these troubled times of the Corona pandemic to keep our routines as normal as possible, our spirits high and to reflect that despite the doom and gloom, eventually we will all be able to gather again together to support our team.

My condolences are also extended to any Gooner home or abroad who has lost loved ones to this virus, and you will be in our thoughts also as we remember Rocky Rocastle. To lose a loved one is a tragedy and the pain will endure for many years to come. To those Gooners who are desperate to see normal life return, with my medical hat on, I urge you to self isolate if you have symptoms or use social distancing in line with the government advice. We have to do so in a manner that is fanatical with self discipline as this is the only way that we can slow and eventually stop the rapid spread of this illness.

My twitter handle is @GoonerRocky, my forum handle is Rocky the King. I don’t have any affiliation with the Rocastle family, I did interview his sister Karen Rocastle in 2009 some eight years after his death. For younger Gooners who never knew Rocky Rocastle, the mystery has been helped by a documentary “Rocky & Wrighty: From Brockley to the big time” which aired on BT Sport in 2017, made by Ian Wright (one of his closest friends) and produced by Tom Boswell. It is easy to find online and I recommend a watch as the archive footage of this Arsenal legend is priceless.

Thus I have chosen like the documentary to look back and try to understand why Gooners took this particular Arsenal legend to their hearts in such a big way. There have been other Arsenal legends who have passed away such as George Geordie Armstrong and more recently Jose Antonio Reyes.

What is it that leads to an outpouring of love and celebration of some deceased legends as opposed to others? Speaking as a fan, I answer the question by saying that is often the recall of a special moment in the club’s history which that legend participated in. The winning of a game, or a trophy. For others it might be a chant. The cementing of a ritualistic celebration of a player on the anniversary of his passing on the scale that we mark Rocky Rocastle’s death is quite rare.

In looking back I have chosen to give you a flavour of the tributes from other fans of the several other clubs that Rocky played for following his exit from Highbury. I will also include extracts from old interviews and articles that you may never have read before. This is because I feel that Rocky was as close to his fans as to his team mates. His personality, leadership and behaviour was what made him a firm fan’s favourite at whichever club he played for.

Rocky left Arsenal Football club in 1992 for Leeds United the then reigning league champions in a deal which broke the West Yorkshire club’s transfer record of close to £2 million. It had been organised by George Graham and for many Gooners, it came as a shock. Things did not start off well for Rocky, for after his initial transfer he was unable to break into the side due to the resurgence in form of Gordon Strachan, the player that he was brought in to replace as this YouTube interview recalls.

Aged 25 years old Rocky was still able to show glimpses of the sublime skills that made him worth watching. He continued to score goals in games that were memorable for his fans, and for the Leeds United supporters, there was no better moment than when he scored in the 4-1 league victory over Chelsea, who were then fierce championship rivals. One of the club’s fanzines was called ‘The Square Ball’ and Billie1 of the Squareball fanzine wrote:
“I saw David Rocastle make his league debut as a 17 year old for Arsenal (my brother is a Gooner) at Highbury against Newcastle I think it was. A boring 0-0 draw but Rocastle shone that day. For some reason he just seemed to lose his way. On his day he was simply sublime. We didn't see the best of him in a Leeds shirt because perhaps his best days were already behind him. I do remember a great goal he scored for us against Chelsea I think it was, when he showed that on his day he was up there with the very best. RIP Rocky”

Rocky had touched this Leeds United fan’s heart and there were other equally touching memories of the player in these archives. Rocky made 34 appearances and scored two goals in his 18 months at Leeds.

Rocky then moved to Maine Road, the then home of Manchester City in December 1993. The transfer fee was again £2 million and the player made 21 Premier League appearances and scored two goals. Posted on ‘Blue Moon’ the Man City fanzine online in 2010, he was remembered by Man City fan m18ctid who said:
“As you say, he didn't play for us for very long but he definitely endeared himself to the fans. In the space of a month in the 1993-94 season he pulled off that amazing bit of skill at home to Ipswich, scored a cracker against Swindon, and topped it off with a goal at Loftus Road that had the whole away end serenading him with "There's only one Rocky". I remember Leeds fans having a similar relationship with him before signing for us, even though he only spent a relatively short time with them too. I was gutted when I heard we'd sold him to Chelsea in the summer of 1994. It didn't make any sense to me at the time. RIP Rocky.”

Another Man City fan Bluetonium in the same thread said this:
“Will always remember that goal against QPR, in front of Franny Lee as the new owner, Rocky Rocastle with a nice bit of skill gets away from 2/3 players, crosses and Carl Griffiths with a cheeky flick into the net. Class goal. RIP Rocky.”

The next few seasons were quite turbulent as ironically Rocky moved to Chelsea Football Club. At the South London Club he made 29 appearances without scoring. He stayed at the club and was subject to some loan appointments during that time. Rocky was recalled by this Chelsea fan called Forzby in December 2013 who posted this in The Shed end.com:
“Rocky was one of those players who seems to have been popular with the fans at every club he played for. A classy player and seemingly a real gent off the field. We didn't get to see a lot of him in a Chelsea shirt but he played a big part in our excellent start to the 94-95 season. One of my mates who is an Arsenal fan had a husky dog that he named Rocky in honour of his favourite player at the time. Bizarrely his dog died on the same day as Rocky Rocastle. Good to see a thread on Rocky here.”

Rocky was then loaned to the East Anglian side Norwich where he made eleven appearances without scoring. Yet Rocky left his mark on the club as stated in this article, a tribute on the website Flown From The Nest in December 2015:
“Rocastle came to Norwich on loan in January 1997 in an attempt to resurrect his career. He made his City debut against Grimsby Town on 18th January 1997 in a Norwich midfield bereft of Andy Johnson and Mike Milligan. Rocastle impressed the Norwich fans with his intelligent passing and commitment and Mike Walker extended his loan spell for a second month. However Norwich were unable to meet his wage demands and Rocastle returned to Chelsea after 11 games in yellow and green. He has been linked with a move to Italian side Fiorentina but spent August 1997 on trial at Aberdeen.”

His next loan was at Hull City and Philip Buckingham, the sports correspondent of Hull Live news website wrote an article about the famous professional players who had graced the ranks of Hull City Football Club in 1997:
“Centre Midfield: David Rocastle
City were down on their knees when Mark Hateley persuaded his former England team-mate to join him at Boothferry Park and Rocastle did not disappoint. A goal on debut came in a 3-0 win over Scarborough, with the midfielder’s elegance lighting up a drab season for the Tigers.
Only injury problems prevented Rocastle from making an even bigger impact and within two years he was forced into retirement. A ray of sunshine in some of City’s darkest days.
Appearances: 11; goals: 1”

I end this trip down memory lane about Rocky by documenting an article that appeared in Aljazeera online which related to his move from Chelsea in 1998 to the Malaysian club side Sabah on a free transfer. This was posted by Jason Dasey on 09 April 2011:
“Spending two seasons with east Malaysian state side Sabah in 1998 and 1999, Rocastle was one of the biggest names to grace the Asian club stage, along with fellow English stars Gary Lineker and Tony Cottee. Considering what he'd achieved, we were expecting a bit of a prima donna," said the former Sabah FA president, Datuk Anifah Aman. "But David was very humble and dedicated and would turn up early for training and be one of the last to leave. He made an effort to learn all the unfamiliar names of his team-mates and took a genuine interest in them."
Today, Anifah is the Foreign Minister of Malaysia and spent this week on official business in the Korea Republic with the nation's Prime Minister. A lifelong Arsenal fan, he studied in London during Rocastle's heyday in the late 1980s and helped bring off an audacious coup by signing 'Rocky' to the unheralded Malaysian league, with the help of club manager Ken Shellito, a former Chelsea player and coach.
"The president asked if I could get a foreign player of quality from the UK and I went for David who was top drawer in every way," Shellito said. "He was always available on and off the field to help. With his presence and attitude, the team did well and individual performances improved."
Anifah added: "We didn't think that we could afford him, but money was never an issue for David. He just wanted to be of help and work with the youngsters. Thanks to him, many of those youngsters became very good players."
No longer the free-running, goal-scoring midfielder who lit up Highbury, Rocastle often played in a more central role in which he opened up opportunities for his teammates.
"He had some problems with his knees so he wasn't as fast as before but his passing and positional play were excellent," Anifah said. “It took a while for the players to get used to his style but once they did he was a true asset. There was never a time when I wasn’t happy with David's effort or performance."

Rocastle still had the knack of occasionally producing outstanding goals. Perhaps the best from his Malaysia stint was a long-range effort in a 4-1 home win against Perak in 1998. Jaws dropped at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu as Rocastle volleyed the ball in from 50 metres.
"After the match, the Perak manager jokingly renamed him 'David Rascal'," Shellito said.
"When David first arrived, I took him to a local food-stall and he didn’t have any trouble adapting to the local environment," said former Sabah assistant manager Anuar Ayub. "I introduced him to the local banana fritters (goreng pisang) and he instantly took a liking to them. He later confessed that he was 'addicted' to them."

Rocky left his mark at this club where he led them on an unbelievable streak to the Malaysian FA Cup final where unfortunately the fairy tale ended with Sabah being runners up. David ‘Rocky’ Rocastle had again cemented his class in the heart and minds of fans who had never seen the big time and enjoyed their brief moment of glory, inspired by Rocky.

Sadly 1999 saw the beginning of the illness that was to take Rocky’s life. He became increasing unwell. He returned to London, his playing days were over and despite treatment and a heroic personal battle against the illness he finally died on 31st March 2001 from Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

RIP ROCKY ROCASTLE
02 May 1967 - 31 March 2001

Twitter@GoonerRocky

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