How did Arsenal collapse so quickly after the first double of 1971
Recent Articles
- 100 seasons in the top division. Winning the Double (for the first time)
- 100 seasons in the top division: what happened after the 1st double?
- 100 seasons in the top division: 1971/2 and 1972/3
- Arsenal under Mee: after the double
The full index of articles so far… is published here
By Tony Attwood
In 1970 Arsenal won the Fairs Cup, and then in 1971 Arsenal won the double. of the League and FA Cup, something that had only been achieved once before in the modern game.
In 1971/72, Arsenal slipped back somewhat in the league, finishing fifth, and reached another FA Cup final, but lost that by a single goal to Leeds United. The feeling at the time was that Arsenal were still very much up there fighting for the main prizes, and coming runners-up in the league in 1972/3, although disappointing, was seen as proof that Arsenal would be challenging once more in the following season.
However, it was also noted that the 1972/3 season ended poorly, although the league table shows Arsenal coming in as runners-up in Division One. Frank McLintock, who had been such a central part in Arsenal’s success, was sold to QPR after he had been replaced as captain by Blockley. In addition, Arsenal’s goal tally was way below that of Liverpool, who won the league and Leeds, who came third. Indeed, even Stoke City, who finished 15th, scored more than Arsenal, and if there is one thing that fans want other than trophies, it is goals.
Three players had made their debut in 1972/3 – Jeff Blockley, Brian Hornsby and David Price, and none of them captured the imagination of the fans who were still entranced by the results of previous seasons. More of the same was expected and indeed demanded, but that was not what the team provided after 1972/3
By finishing 10th in 1973/4 Arsenal had in fact travelled backwards to 1969/70 (when they had finished 12th Ande although it was hardly Arsenal’s fault, matters were not helped by the introduction of the three-day week, as a result of the government’s response to industrial action by coal miners and railway workers. With electricity shortages, floodlighting was forbidden, and crowds for midweek games played in the afternoon were naturally modest. There was however some uplift from the appearance of Liam Brady whose extraordinary talents were recognised when aged 17 he was given his first Arsenal game in 1973.
But if a 10th place finish in 1973/4 was bad, it was nothing compared with a 16th place finsih to the 1974/5 season. Worse, Ray Kennedy was sold to Liverpool in the summer of 1974, and that seemed to symbolise Arsenal’s total lack of direction or vision. (The fact that he subsequently won eight trophies with his new club was also not lost on Arsenal supporters).
This was also the season that Bob Wilson decided to retire – another crowd favourite who had served the club incredibly well, it was felt. But the fact was that the perception of Arsenal was now becoming that of a club that could not hold onto its best players, and was as a result, going downhill, from 2nd to 10th to 15th in the league in successive seasons. And of course matters were only made worse by a run of eight defeats and three draws, which by 19 October 1974 left Arsenal bottom of the 1st division, with even Tottenham supporters having something to laugh about. And that was without the knowledge that Ray Kennedy was now knocking in goals for Liverpool.
And indeed it must be noted that just as this series celebrates 100 seasons of Arsenal in the top division, even in the 1970s there was an awareness of Arsenal’s longevity in the top tier. Arsenal going down would be more than a simple statistic. Here’s how the table looked…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 8 | 19 |
| 19 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 16 | 20 | 9 |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 13 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 9 |
| 21 | Luton Town | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 8 |
| 22 | Arsenal | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 7 |
In fact it wasn’t until the spring that Arsenal managed to get clear of the threat of relegation, and there was a real awareness that this was all happening so shortly after the amazing double at the start of the decade. The fact that Arsenal ended up four points above relegation hardly helped calm anyone’s anger.
What Arsenal clearly needed was a new approach, an approach which could lift morale among the team and the supporters. And if that were not to be as a result of rising up the league table in 1975/6 then at least a good run in either the FA Cup or the League Cup would help a little.
But in effect in 1975/6 Arsenal delivered nothing remotely like this and concluded the season 17th in the league. Bertie Mee announced his decision to leave the club even before the end of the season, and in fact left the club on 4 May 1976. His historic record was impressive, having won the league, the FA Cup and the Fairs Cup with Arsenal. But it was noted that he had only led Arsenal to victory in just one of his last seven games in 1976, and as ever in football, it is the present that means more than the past.
Thus it was that a man who could have been celebrated as one of our greatest ever managers, following his delivery of the Double, left derided and booed by many fans in the stadium. His last home game (a 1-2 defeat) was attended by under 27,000 spectators.
Arsenal now needed a new manager who it was felt could rebuild the club and take it on the journey that everyone had thought that Bertie Mee would deliver after the double. Their chosen man was Terry Neill, It was a controversial move since he was employed by Tottenham at the time of his appointment to Arsenal. But Tottenham had finished 9th in Neill’s last season and Arsenal had just finsihed 17th, so some immediate improvement was hoped for.