Leslie Knighton (Arsenal manager 1919-1925), in what turned out to be his final season at Arsenal, tried to give his charges an extra pep in the shape of doped pills for the FA Cup tie against West Ham United in January 1925.
He admitted to this action 23 years later in his entertaining autobiography “Behind the Scenes in Big Football”, and of interest to us is the chapter “I Dope Arsenal For A Cup Tie” as it refers to these series of matches against the East Londoners.
After Andy was asked by the Official Arsenal Magazine to argue for the greatest manager – Herbert Chapman – I was requested to give my thoughts on the Greatest Arsenal Goalkeeper in the April 2016 issue.
Now, a definition of “greatest” doesn’t necessarily refer to the best player, it can also mean someone who has done great things. Which was why I chose our first goalkeeper after World War 1 owing to his work with servicemen blinded during the war.
The predictable path would have been to pick a modern goalkeeper like Seaman, Wilson, Rimmer, Lukic or Jennings but that has been covered many times over in official and unofficial publications and websites.
Ernie Williamson saves from a blind player’s spot kick. Photo courtesy of the Blind Veterans UK – Rob Baker.
EC Williamson showed the human side of the Arsenal in a period where the country was in recovery from a great upheaval and one of effective torpor for the club.
The Arsenal History recounts a classic, no holds barred, encounter between the North London rivals.
By Mark Andrews
Daily Mirror 1 January 1920
by Andy Kelly and Mark Andrews
In the fifth part of our series we look at a subtle change to The Arsenal’s name that took place much earlier than many people believe.
