“The purists would still want the FA Cup final at 3pm on the last Saturday of the season,” – Greg Dyke
Is the 3 o’clock kick-off time a tradition? Was it just a recent invention or does it have deeper roots in the competition? Is it progressive to alter the time of the kick offs, or just an utter waste of energy and another example of the FA bowing before BBC, Sky and BT dictats?
On 9 May 1891 the members of Royal Arsenal Football Club caused a sensation on the London football scene when they voted to turn professional. The governing body for football in London were staunchly amateur, heavily influenced by the “old boys” network of public schools.
Royal Arsenal had been forced into this situation after losing a number of their players to the professional clubs in the Midlands and the North. Being the best club in London and the South had led to them becoming victims of their own success.
Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Alex James: these three names always crop up when discussing the best attacking player in Arsenal’s history, but the outstanding player from the 1930s is our subject here.
