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We might be having a few celebrations at the end of 2009, but one hundred years ago the outlook was not so fine for Woolwich Arsenal supporters. We had had our min-revival that had lifted us out of the relegation zone, but then, just when it looked like we could make a concerted effort to climb up [...] What happened in terms of reserve football 100 years ago? The notion of a club playing in several leagues at once was well established, but did the notion of having a reserve team playing football in their own league also exist in 1909? The edition of Arsenal A Complete Record which I have includes a record of Woolwich [...] After two home defeats (against Notts County and Newcastle) in the Christmas period, 1909, Woolwich Arsenal finally managed to salvage a point from a home game, drawing one all in front of 15,000. It was the very least needed, given that the next match on January 1 1910 was Liverpool away. The only surprise in the Arsenal team [...] Next up for Woolwich Arsenal 100 years ago, after the disaster of Christmas Day, was Liverpool at home. At that time everyone knew the background: Liverpool were formed by the left-overs of Everton. When Everton moved out of Anfield Road and trotted off to the Goodison Park, a bunch of malcontents stayed behind and formed Everton – which [...] How indeed! But that is what happened at Christmas 1909. The club had been favoured with three home games in a row. Newcastle had to travel south on Christmas Eve and probably stay in a grotty hotel. A trip to Woolwich was called “a trip to hell” by the northern clubs because of the problems with the [...] Christmas Day at Woolwich Arsenal in 1909 – Arsenal play Newcastle. Nice and easy for Woolwich, being at home, but one hell of a long journey for the visitors. And remember this was not just a rail trip to London. 100 years ago Woolwich was a a small town in remote Kent, with only an occasional [...] The run of two draws and then three wins had taken Woolwich Arsenal out of the relegation zone by December 1909 and things were surely looking up. Notts County were a high flying team – 3rd at the time – but still on this form, and at home (which no none-London team liked coming to, because the [...] In my last post I mentioned the time when Arsenal played three games in three days. I wrote that piece just before Wolverhampton W created a storm in the EPL by actually changing their team around because the players couldn’t manage two tough games in four days. What is interesting is that in 1904 when Arsenal played three [...] Go back 100 years and you would find Christmas then similar to Christmas today. Presents were exchanged (all tied up with string), there was an emphasis on religion, and it was a public holiday – although less so than now. Families got together, and there was a lot of drinking. No TV and no radio of course, [...] It was the most unlikely result. There certainly was gambling on football 100 years ago, but I don’t know if anyone gambled on actual scores. If they did , they would never have picked this result in a million goes. Woolwich Arsenal went into the match just about crawling out of the relegation zone. Preston were slipping from [...] Actually in that headline the bit that is most unlikely is the Passion. By 1909 the once Invincibles had declined and were in a backwater of football, where crowds of between 3,000 to 7,000 were commonplace. Preston North End had wonthe first league (1888/9) without losing a game – impressive, but not too hard when only 22 [...] Looking at the records of Woolwich Arsenal it is clear that player longevity at a club was a rarity. Look up the records and you will find that the vast majority of players played maybe a dozen or so games for the club and then moved on elsewhere. Transfers (probably without any fee) were commonplace and happened [...] Back in 1909 football crowds in the First Division were highly variable – a bit like the Scottish Premier League 100 years later. Chelsea and Manchester United could get crowds of up to 60,000 or even more. Bristol City, Bury and Preston NE would often be around the 6,000 mark. But crowds were variable not just between grounds [...] Of course the similarities between Woolwich Arsenal in 1909 and Arsenal 2009 are small. It is the same club (the shares issued in Woolwich Arsenal after it was taken over by Henry Norris are the same shares as we have now) and the traditions of the club continue. But the style and approach to the game is [...] This is, of course, a site that deals with the history of Arsenal FC, particularly what happened 100 years ago. And for the past two days I have been writing about the first ever game between Woolwich Arsenal and Tottenham which took place on 4 December 1909. But today (5 December 2009) we should celebrate another brilliant milestone [...] So here we are at last: the first of the centenaries that this site was set up to celebrate. 100 years to the day when the first game between Woolwich Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur was played. I wrote in the last article about the comparative situation of the two clubs – Woolwich Arsenal established in the First [...] 2 December 1909 And so it was that Arsenal, having got their mini revival moving along with a win and two draws, and having dragged themselves off the bottom of the First Division for the first time this season, had to play hosts to Tottenham. But it is important not to see this as a local derby. It [...] |
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