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    A View from the West Upper: A Reflective Account Through the Eyes of One Fan
    A View from the West Upper: A Reflective Account Through the Eyes of One Fan
    A View from the West Upper: A Reflective Account Through the Eyes of One Fan
    Ebook93 pages1 hour

    A View from the West Upper: A Reflective Account Through the Eyes of One Fan

    By Harrison James

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    About this ebook

    This book will take Arsenal and football fans through a magical journey from spring 1995 right through to spring 2017. It describes the level of change in society whilst supporting a 21st-century football club and business. It highlights how people interact and how we look at change, but also demonstrates how important security can be too. We explore the club's adventure on and off the field through ambition, hope, risk and success, all cross-referenced to our daily real-life journey. This account will make you think back to those early days of change whilst making you laugh and appreciate how fortunate we are to support this great club and business. Regardless of how long you have been supporting Arsenal, this book will be a hugely entertaining read.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAustin Macauley Publishers
    Release dateJan 31, 2019
    ISBN9781528944847
    A View from the West Upper: A Reflective Account Through the Eyes of One Fan

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      Book preview

      A View from the West Upper - Harrison James

      24

      About the Author

      The author

      James Harrison has worked in adult education for nearly 20 years. As part of his role, he has provided career advice, as well as help and support to students. He is a keen Arsenal supporter and has been going to games since early childhood. He enjoys watching Arsenal play, reading, writing and spending time with his family at home in Hertfordshire. This is his first book.

      Dedication

      For my children, Millie and Oliver – by far the greatest fans the world has ever seen.

      Copyright Information

      Copyright © James Harrison (2019)

      The right of James Harrison to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

      Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

      A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

      ISBN 9781528900287 (Paperback)

      ISBN 9781528900294 (E-Book)

      www.austinmacauley.com

      First Published (2019)

      Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

      25 Canada Square

      Canary Wharf

      E14 5LQ

      Acknowledgements

      Thank you to my family for firstly introducing me to the club some 43 years ago, and for their appreciation and understanding to ensure that I still attend games today. Thank you as well to the book publishers for giving me this opportunity and, finally, to Arsenal Football Club for its timeless brilliance and the support they have shown me.

      Chapter 1

      Picture the scene, four men leaving a café and walking slowly to their beloved football stadium. They talk about how bad their latest fry up was and that next season the food can only improve. Some of them have been saying that for years. They know it won’t, but there is no way they will try somewhere else.

      They greet the same people as they go through the turnstiles and make their way up the staircases in the west upper stand. They use the toilets and pass the bar. They order the same drinks as they have for years, yet still can’t remember the cost. With their drinks, they climb the last set of stairs overlooking the pitch. They sit down, two in front of the other, and pause. It’s a beautiful evening, for a few seconds, there is silence, and then our journey starts.

      What a ten years we’ve had! The silence is broken. He shakes his head as he speaks. The same four men sit in the west upper stand, their eyes darting around a famous football stadium.

      We’re so lucky! says his fellow fan and lifetime friend.

      Aren’t we just? comes a reply. We all agree.

      It’s May 1995, the early summer sun shines on the lush Highbury turf, as four men reflect briefly on a massive generation for the club.

      The club was going through a huge change in both management and players. We should go continental! demands one fan. We all agree, though secretly no one knew what that actually meant.

      Then, that summer, the club decided to change the structure of the goal frames, out went the traditional Highbury goals and in came the ‘European’ nets. Also that summer came a new manager and two huge names. One, of course, was very much a continental player, the other, a full England international but was moving back to England from abroad. Did this start a journey to a continental structure? Quite possibly, it did.

      As our two summer signings fired us into European football, on the final game of the season, the events which followed were beyond any fan’s dream.

      Back in those days, the idea of social media and smartphones would make people laugh and, perhaps, even cry. However, the rumour mill was as strong back then, as it is now, perhaps, even stronger as there were limited sources to base it against. Yes, we had the television, where sports programmes were in their relative infancy, we also had radio phone-in shows, but nothing like we have today. We relied on the ever so reliable sandwich bar owners, taxi drivers and, the best source of anything relating to football, yes, you’ve got it, the residential estate agent, to keep us, fans, updated with the latest houses that superstars from Europe and beyond had just brought from them. Strange, some things don’t change, do they?

      Football is strange. Like no other sport, it has the power to draw you in. It can love you, hate you, be the source for peace and, at the same time, create war. One thing is for certain though, it keeps us coming back. Week after week, we are all the same. When the final whistle blows for the last game of the season, the countdown starts immediately to the next campaign. Year after year, it’s the same.

      The mid-’90s were no different, apart from the fact we were looking for a new manager.

      It’s difficult to remember how you were 20 or 25 years ago. Whilst not a lifetime ago, it’s still enough time to change dramatically. The years certainly fly by, along with some of the hopes and aims you wanted to achieve, but no matter if you are rich or poor, young or old, when it comes to football and Arsenal, the interest and excitement on who the new manager should be seemed more important than anything.

      In the mid-’80s, there was household excitement, if Arsenal were featured in the newspaper. I remember reading in such fine detail on how we were destined to finish in the top 8 at the end of each season. Things changed hugely, however, in 1987, as I saw my team not only reach Wembley, but win at Wembley, as we won the league cup. The next seven years or so were spent lifting trophies, parades around Islington and photographs with silverware. People used to tell me, I didn’t know how lucky I was to see my team win at Wembley, at the age of 12, actually I did realise how lucky I was, and still do.

      My first few years were a bleak period for the club. We still finished in healthy positions, made some progress, normally in cup competitions, but we didn’t stand out. I can put the last 30-something years down to two separate eras of success. One from 1986 to 1994 and the

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