Geordie Armstrong: On the Wing , livre ebook

Legends Publishing - Dave Seager

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173 pages

English

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George 'Geordie' Armstrong served Arsenal for 27 years as both a player and a coach, before being cruelly taken from his family and his club whilst coaching the Arsenal reserves at London Colney - he collapsed suddenly on the training pitch having suffered a brain haemorrhage in October 2000 - and never recovered. At the request of Geordie's daughter, Jill, Dave Seager has worked towards capturing the essence of George Armstrong: the player, the coach and the man. He has not chosen the conventional biography route, instead he tells the story of Geordie Armstrong with the assistance of those who knew him best - and the end product reads like a veritable who's who of Arsenal Football Club from the past 50 years. Seager successfully paints a remarkable picture - reliving stories and recollections of those who loved him; those who were fortunate to call him their friend; those who played alongside him; those who watched him play week in week out and those who were coached by him. There are also dozens of never before published action shots and pictures from George's own personal photographic collection to enjoy. The interview roll-call includes: Bob Wilson, Frank McLintock, Charlie George, Eddie Kelly, John Radford, George Graham, Liam Brady, George Cohen, Arsene Wenger, Dennis Bergkamp, Lee Dixon, David Dein, Gary Lewin, Vic Akers, Stewart Houston, Pat Rice, Martin Keown, Kevin Campbell, Frank Stapleton, Steve Burtenshaw, Ken Friar, Steve Sidwell, Perry Groves, Peter Simpson, Brendan Batson, Bob McNab and many more -

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Publié par	Legends Publishing
Date de parution	20 novembre 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781906796549
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1000€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Published by Legends Publishing
E-mail david@legendspublishing.net Website www.legendspublishing.net
Copyright 2014
This book is dedicated to George Armstrong’s five granchildren: George, Jude, Cody, Mya and Karl
The photographs featured in this book have been sourced from the Armstrong family’s personal collection. We would also like to thank the staff at Colorsport and MirrorPix for their generous help. It has unfortunately not been possible to trace every photographer, however, we’d be delighted to add credits in subsequent updates if new information becomes available.
Notice of Rights All rights reserved. Unless it is part of a published review, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact Legends Publishing.
All views expressed in this book are the personal opinions of the individuals concerned and not necessarily those of the author, the publisher or the football club. All efforts have been made to ensure the content of this book is historically accurate but if any individual named feels they have been misrepresented your right to reply will be exercised if you so wish.
CONTENTS
PREFACE, FOREWORD INTRO
GIVING GEORDIE SOME CONTEXT
TO START AT THE END: A FITTING SEND 0FF
BEFORE GEORGE BECAME GEORDIE
WELCOME TO HIGHBURY
THOSE WHO WON WITH HIM
VIEW FROM THE OPPOSITION
THE JOURNALISTS’ MATCH REPORTS
THE TESTIMONIAL YEAR
A NORTH BANK HERO: THE FANS’ TRIBUTE
A MENTOR IN TRANSITION: 1973 TO 1977
IF GEORDIE WAS PLAYING TODAY
BEYOND HIGHBURY
THE NORWEGIAN EXPERIENCE
WEST LONDON TO WEST LONDON VIA BORO
THE KUWAIT ADVENTURE
THE HIGHBURY HOMECOMING
THE ARSENE WENGER YEARS
THE MEMORIAL STONE
LIVING WITH A LEGEND
COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS SENIOR PROS
PREFACE

G eorge Armstrong, as you will learn in the pages that follow, was the antithesis of the modern day football superstar – yet to those who knew him, played with him and cheered him on from the terraces – he was just that… a bona fide Arsenal Superstar.
The words ‘Great’ and ‘Legend’ are bandied about very readily in a modern era, in which television, as well as written and social media, scrutinizes every aspect of a top footballer’s life, and there have been many Arsenal players labelled with monumental superlatives whose actual ‘greatness’ could be seriously questioned – but this book is inspired by one where there is no debate.
George ‘Geordie’ Armstrong served Arsenal Football club for 27 years, during spells as both a player and a coach, but in a tragic twist of fate, he was cruelly taken from his family and his club at just 56 years of age. On October 31, 2000, George was working on the training pitch at London Colney with his Arsenal reserves when he suddenly collapsed, having suffered a brain haemorrhage, from which he never recovered.
No family would ever wish to lose such a loved husband and father, but there is acknowledgement within Geordie’s family that if he could have chosen when and where to leave us, then it would have been on a training pitch, at Arsenal, with his ‘lads’. But from that tragedy was born a desire to somehow build a record of what Geordie had meant to so many people, and indeed how much he’d accomplished in the game, so that future generations of the Armstrong family, as well as future Arsenal fans, would understand what George Armstrong had achieved as a footballer.
The original, and biggest driver behind this homage to Geordie, has been his daughter, Jill. When her father passed away 14 years ago, she started to collect the memories of her dad’s ex-team mates and from Arsenal fans, all of whom were invited to write about their recollections of her father. At the time her brother Tom and his fiancé were expecting their first child, and it was the realisation that future grandchildren would never know their grandfather, that instilled Jill with a sense of purpose.
But, despite receiving over 600 letters from Arsenal supporters, team mates and coaching colleagues, taking things to the next stage became too personal and emotionally difficult for Jill, meaning the correspondence, newspaper cuttings and tributes remained treasured, unshared mementoes.
However, it was thanks to Jill’s introduction to social media via Twitter, prompted by a trip to her father’s memorial pitch at Colney with her own children, that rekindled the desire to share her father’s memory once more, and as a keen Arsenal Blogger, I was humbled when Jill approached me to assist her with this very personal project. I am proud to have written this book and have tried my upmost to capture the essence of George Armstrong.
In writing this book I have chosen not to follow the conventional ‘biography’ route but, instead, attempted to tell the story of Geordie Armstrong with the assistance of those who knew him most. To build a picture of the man using the memories and recollections of those who loved him; those who called him their friend; those who played with him on football pitches all over the world; and those coached by him. Sharing his wisdom with the assistance of Arsene Wenger and Don Howe, iconic players such as Dennis Bergkamp, Frank McLintock, Liam Brady and Bob Wilson, as well as the great and the good that span Geordie’s whole football career, has been a wonderful journey for me personally too.
I hope that younger Arsenal supporters will read this book, alongside the ‘more senior’ diehard Gunners who saw him play week in, week out – for there are many figures that have shaped the history, tradition and heritage of Arsenal Football Club – and the memories that follow leave little doubt that George Armstrong is amongst the most significant in the past half century.
Dave Seager
FOREWORD

M y father lived and breathed football. It was his life, and ours, for so long. Dad would have felt embarrassed by ‘all this fuss’, as he would have put it. But secretly, I think he would have been chuffed! To say what dad meant to my mum, brother Tom and I would be impossible. There are not enough pages in this book to fill it with the love mum, Tom and I had for dad.
Tom’s first child was on its way when my dad passed, (my parent’s first grandchild) and I felt the need to create a book of peoples’ memories about dad for the future grandchildren, of which there are five – George, Jude, Cody, Mya and Karl. I wanted them to have a book that they could read one day, and learn about their grandfather and hear from the people that knew him best – fellow players and Arsenal fans. After the funeral I started writing to people – players, fans and friends – however, the grief kicked in and I stopped. Eventually, many years later, I picked up the book project idea again – largely thanks to social media.
In November 2013, after the 13th anniversary of dad’s passing, I started tweeting photos of dad. The response I experienced was amazing. The Arsenal fans were wonderful and I developed some great correspondence with a few supporters. I felt the overwhelming need to finish dad’s book, and I wanted a supporter to write it. Dave Seager came highly recommended and I’d like to thank Peter Nelson for the introduction. Dave and I clicked instantly and I knew he was the perfect man to write the book about my father. In my view Dave has managed to create the impossible, by bringing my father back to life. The way in which he has captured the pure essence of my father is incredible. A very talented writer, who has researched every angle of this publication and persevered, through thick and thin, to contact as many people as possible with a link to dad’s life in football. I thank you Dave, as well as all the people who have contributed to this fantastic read.

Fans old and young can enjoy and learn about the man that was “Geordie Armstrong on the Wing” – someone I feel was part of the fabric that makes this “Great Club Great”.
Jill Armstrong
INTRODUCTION

W hen I first arrived at Highbury in 1963 I was nervous, lonely and a little apprehensive. Not simply wondering if I would be good enough to play for the Arsenal, but whether the other players would look on me as a university lad. I needn’t have worried because George Armstrong wouldn’t have cared less if I’d been born into royalty. From the first day of my knowing Geordie, to the sad last day, he always had a word and a smile for me. I grew to love him like a brother, but then our special team in the late Sixties and early Seventies was like a band of brothers – one for all and all for one!
Within the group there were naturally a few who found training, travelling and, even playing, an occasional chore – but happily there were also those who never let the lazy ones get away with it – Geordie was the prime mover. Watching him in training or in competition, he was Mr. Perpetual Motion. No one was ever going to be able to accuse Geordie of giving anything other than 110%.
He was truly a great player, one who was somehow overlooked at international level by managers and coaches who should have known better. Better still to being a great player, he was a great human being. Generous, friendly and wonderfully humble.

In my 12 years at Arsenal we did share a room occasionally, times that also remain treasured memories. In those moments we would talk about family and their importance – how proud he was of Marj, Tom and Jill – and how he loved them. Hopefully, Geordie recognised just how much we all loved him too. We were all proud to be his team mates and I am certain we will all continue to think about him, and the times we all spent together, until the day we will be reunited.
Thank you George Armstrong for enriching my life and the lives of all those you touched. With love.
Bob Wilson
GIVING GEORDIE