My guest blogger today is fellow Arsenal fan, George Ring, explaining why he's a lifelong supporter.
by George Ring
When I was five years and six months old, 6th October 1956, I lived in Eldon Road, Wood Green, N22, no need for further numbers or letters in postcodes back then. Eldon Road was a short walk from the Wood Green end of White Hart Lane. If one walked along White Hart Lane one would pass a football ground, which belonged to Wood Green Town, the best football team in White Hart Lane, which was not saying very much really.
If one carried on for a further fifteen minutes one would arrive at the junction of White Hart Lane and Tottenham High Road. Turn right and you would soon see another football ground, this one belongs to the mighty Tottenham Hotspur whose Ground had one side on the High Road, another on Paxton Road and two other sides on Park Lane where one day I was to play football myself, Rugby code though and not successfully.
At age five and a half, I was ill-equipped to go strolling for a mile or so, so I asked my beloved Grandfather to take me to watch Tottenham Hotspur. He told me that Tottenham was much too far to travel and I would be asleep by the time we got there, but he would happily take me to Arsenal which was just over a mile away in the other direction followed by a few stops on the London Underground: Turnpike Lane, Manor House, Finsbury Park and then Arsenal (Gillespie Road).
If one carried on for a further fifteen minutes one would arrive at the junction of White Hart Lane and Tottenham High Road. Turn right and you would soon see another football ground, this one belongs to the mighty Tottenham Hotspur whose Ground had one side on the High Road, another on Paxton Road and two other sides on Park Lane where one day I was to play football myself, Rugby code though and not successfully.
At age five and a half, I was ill-equipped to go strolling for a mile or so, so I asked my beloved Grandfather to take me to watch Tottenham Hotspur. He told me that Tottenham was much too far to travel and I would be asleep by the time we got there, but he would happily take me to Arsenal which was just over a mile away in the other direction followed by a few stops on the London Underground: Turnpike Lane, Manor House, Finsbury Park and then Arsenal (Gillespie Road).
| When on the train I pointed out that if we stayed on for a few more stops we could watch Leicester City and even Liverpool. At the time of course Liverpool were a second division outfit but I watched them become most impressive in later years. My first match on 6th October 1956, was Arsenal Reserves against Luton Town Reserves, Luton were then a first division side and wearing a change strip of White Shirts Navy Shorts they beat the gunners 2-1. I was quite happy and went home pleased having seen a good match and the team in Spurs colours at least, winning. (First picture, shows George with his cousin and girlfriend, when he was 5, on Aberavon Beach) |  |
Next time, a fortnight later, Arsenal Reserves were playing the mighty Watford, who at the time were wearing Manchester City blue with white shorts. Arsenal won 7-0 and I became an Arsenal fan for life, well 69 years later -, so far so good, I still love the Arsenal.
As I grew older I could go on my own to matches and would stand on the terraces, I also walked every other week to watch Spurs, I could not love them the way I did Arsenal but they had a fantastic team, Brown, Baker, Henry, Blanchflower, Norman, Mackay, Medwin, White, Smith, Allen and Jones. Sometimes Marchi and Dyson got games but not so very often as I recall. My first year watching Spurs they won the league and cup double, then next year they bought Jimmy Greaves!
As I grew older I could go on my own to matches and would stand on the terraces, I also walked every other week to watch Spurs, I could not love them the way I did Arsenal but they had a fantastic team, Brown, Baker, Henry, Blanchflower, Norman, Mackay, Medwin, White, Smith, Allen and Jones. Sometimes Marchi and Dyson got games but not so very often as I recall. My first year watching Spurs they won the league and cup double, then next year they bought Jimmy Greaves!
As I grew older still, I stopped watching Spurs except when they played my team, and started watching Arsenal home and away. It wasn’t too expensive back them, programmes were 2d to 6d for the good ones, admission was two shillings and sixpence and away travel was four shillings on the Arsenal coach, it just meant getting up early on a Saturday. Five years of this later, my team won the Inter Cities Fairs Cup by beating Anderlecht of Belgium 3-0, I watched this game from Highbury North Terrace but missed the first leg, I certainly could not go trotting off to Belgium on a work day.
Second picture shows George when he was 60, at the Emirates, with John Radford
 | The morning after the first leg I was met in the office by George Hoy, a Northerner who once played for Preston North End, who consoled me with the words “What can you expect from a team of Southern Softies?” I reminded him of what he said the day after the second leg and pointed out that John Radford and George Armstrong were not Southern and nor was Ray Kennedy. Bob Wilson, Frank McLintock and George Graham were even less Southern and Peter Storey was not soft. |
My team won the double in 1970-71 and I was there for every match. It is a long way home by coach from Stoke when your team has lost 5-0, I can tell you. I saw the 0-1 win at White Hart Lane which I walked to, and queued up from 3 o’clock for a seven thirty kick off on 3rd May 1971, and the FA Cup Final against Liverpool, 0-0 at full time then we went one down, somebody equalised, Eddie Kelly, George Graham, I really don’t care and Charlie George thumped home the winner into the net I was standing behind.
| A fourth visit to Wembley was my last; Leeds United again, the Cup Final this time. I had seen them beat us in the League Cup a few years earlier and I had seen Swindon Town beat us the following year. By 1973-74 season admission prices were not what they used to be and I could no longer afford to watch my team except when they were on television. I went twice more, both times to the Emirates as birthday treats from my wife, when I was 62 and 65. We beat Aston Villa 5-0 and Everton 2-0. These days the pain is too much to go to Holloway Road, let alone get up all those stairs to watch my team play but they will always be my team. |  |
Third picture shows George with his wife, when he was 50
(Final picture: George at the end of the 1999 London Marathon, when he was 48)
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