Arsenal Football Club

The club we’re bought out by Henry Norris, and in 1913 after relegation back to the second division and no end in sight of their financial worries the team relocated to Highbury, with the construction of the Arsenal Stadium. They regained promotion in 1919, at the expense of their long time local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, finishing fifth.
The team didn’t see much success until the appointment of manager Herbert Chapman, a seasoned manager and two time first division champion with Huddersfield town, who signed many notable English stars of the day including Cliff Bastin and Alex James who made it possible for the club to win their first piece of silver wear in 1930 with the FA Cup and a further two league titles in 1931 and 1933.

Chapman soon died of pneumonia in 1934, but his legacy was continued by George Allison and Joe Straw who racked up another three league title and an FA cup. The club’s success carried on until the outbreak of the Second World War, when professional football in England was temporarily suspended. With the end of the war and the recommencing of the football league, the club were able to continue their pre-war success under the managerial guidance of Tom Whittaker right up until the late 50’s when their success came to an abrupt halt. This, due mainly to the inability of Arsenal to attract top class players similar to those they had been able to sign under Henry Norris, left the club lingering amidst the middle of the table for many years until unexpected appointment of Arsenal club physiotherapist Berite Mee to  the position of manager in 1966. Under Mee, Arsenal saw their first success in Europe with the winning of the inter-cities fairs cup in 1970 followed the next season by a league double, winning both the English league and FA cups. However, this bought of success was yet again short lived with the following decade bringing Arsenal nothing but near misses season after season.

It was not until 1986 and the appointment of ex-player Geroge Graham as manager that the club tasted success again, with the club managing to win the League Cup in Grahams first season followed by a League title in 1989 by a late goal to leap frog Liverpool in the title race. This success continued until 1995 when it was reveal that Graham had taken money in exchange for signing players which lead the Arsenal board to terminate his contract. The club didn’t have to wait so long after this spell of success for another, with the appointment of Frenchman Arsene Wenger in 1996 who implemented a new style of play and training at the club which lead to Arsenal completing the double in 1998 and 2001. This was followed a few years later by a Champions League Final loss to Barcelona of 2-1, after a controversial decision and penalty which lead to the sending off of goal keeper Jens Lehman not long into the first half. In July of 2006 the team moved location for the second time in their history to the newly contrasted Emirates Stadium after a ninety three year history at their former Highbury stadium.

Team Colours