So Paddy Got Up - an Arsenal anthology Read Online Free PDF

Stapleton making up the Republic contingent, whilst Pat Jennings, Sammy Nelson and captain Pat Rice made up the Northern Irish quota.
    The shining beacon from the Emerald Isles next invading Highbury was a young genius by the name Liam Brady, Highbury’s next terrace legend. Brady was a distinctively Irish sort of hero. Articulate and outspoken, he played like a scruffy artiste. The constantly un-tucked shirt and half-mast socks provided a striking contrast to the gracile quality of his play. If George was Jagger – snarling and pouting – Brady was Richards: perhaps slightly more introspective, but no less devastating. The Irish theme was quick to make its mark on the club. It was around this time that the Irish folk anthem ‘Bejesus Said Paddy’ began to resonate around the stadium. The club played to the theme too, when they released ‘Super Arsenal’, an adaptation of an old Irish folk song, as their 1979 F.A. Cup Final chart entry.
    Brian Magorrian is an Arsenal season ticket holder who was born and raised in Belfast in the 1970’s. Brian contends that, whilst the Irish population of North London may have been flocking towards Highbury, the actual impact of the ‘London Irish’ team was not as culturally significant in Northern Ireland at least. “Arsenal were always popular in Northern Ireland and the Irish connection might have strengthened that. But we were still well outnumbered by Manchester United, Liverpool, Celtic and Rangers. At the time, Arsenal were the third most popular English club in Northern Ireland and I think that’s still the case.”
    Of course, the concoction of Northern and Southern Irish players at Arsenal led to some mischief making in the press. Stories were rife of dressing room discord, with differences in religion and politics at the epicentre of the conflict. Terry Neill and the players have always laughed off such stories. This seems to chime with Brian’s experiences in Belfast, “I don’t remember any tension related to that. It certainly never affected me and I could always happily wear an Arsenal badge in Belfast.”
    The adoption of cult heroes such as Brady and George began to demonstrate the sociological currency players could hold with supporters. Through the 1980’s, at a time when racial tension was at a threshold in British football grounds, Arsenal used notably more black players than most other teams. The likes of Viv Anderson, Chris Whyte, Raphael Meade, Paul Davis and the incomparable David Rocastle were regular fixtures in the side. Holloway and Finsbury Park have long boasted proud African and Caribbean communities. Once again, this began to reflect in the Highbury melting pot. At last known count, around 9% of Arsenal’s season ticket holders were non-white. Moving into the early 90’s when players like Kevin Campbell and Ian Wright were mainstays of the team, bringing contemporary reggae dances into their choreographed goal celebrations, a generation of young black men flocked to Highbury. Arsenal’s corner of North London has long seen migrant communities lay their roots into its soil – which has mirrored in the support. However, the sense of identity with the club’s multicultural playing staff is likely to have had as magnetic an influence.
    Though not raised in North London, Ian Wright and David Rocastle (both from Lewisham) were gracing the side come the early 90’s. They were young, working-class black men raised on inner-city council estates, not dissimilar to the ones that populate the Islington horizon. Much in the same vein as Charlie George had won the affections of the North Bank with his devil-may-care demeanour; Ian Wright likewise became a conduit between the stands and the pitch. His expressiveness, his distaste for authority, and his brusqueness could all be seen to have their roots in inner-city culture. Wright was loved by Arsenal fans, regardless of creed, because he played with his heart on his sleeve.
    I was between primary and