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Happy Birthday Sir Henry George Norris You know, there is a great movie to be made of the life of Sir Henry George Norris. The guy was involved in everything, but obviously loved football the most. Despite his title he was born to working class parents in Kennington in south London on 23rd July 1865. But it was he who turned Arsenal from a struggling south London team into the greatest ever London team. He, more than anyone else, can be said to have created the Arsenal. Highbury in 1913- the start of Henry Norris's plans for greatness But first he had to create himself because was born into humble beginnings. Such people struggle in class ridden Britain to rise up. But Henry Norris was not such a person. He always found a way. Astrologists among us would say it was because he was a Leo – dramatic, fiery, outgoing and self assured. I reckon he would laugh at that nonsense because he made himself by himself and not by some accident of birth. A talent for the dark arts His first area was education, where he showed promise, and then a long stint in a solicitor’s office until at 32, he found his direction. He became a property developer in the booming 19th century London, where industrialisation and an empire that stole resources from half the planet created a massive Capital city screaming for places to live. He had places springing up mostly around Fulham. His talent for corruption meant that he could always get his permissions. He moved into politics alongside this once he made his fortune, becoming Mayor of Fulham, then a councillor, then an MP for, yes you guessed it, the hated Tories. The Grand Lodge of England He was prominent in the Freemason’s, becoming Grand Deacon of the United Grand Lodge of England. Power, riches, and political and trade influence were guaranteed to the Freemason’s and only those who bought into their ways had any chance of advancement. This was a man who knew how to move himself upwards and they recognised a man who would also move them upwards. They were the not-so-secret cabal who ran the empire and embracing the dark side of life was their forte, whenever they had to. He made Highbury He was chairman of Fulham well before his political career, showing his love of football. He then became chairman of Arsenal in 1910 and wanted to create a new superclub by merging them both. The league blocked him so he devoted his attention to the Arsenal. If he hadn’t, would Fulham now be the prominent club in London and Arsenal gone the way of East Ham, Islington Corinthians and Shepherds Bush? No longer around and nobody ever heard of them. Randall Thomas Davidson - a friend in high places He realized that he needed a base so he called up his old crony, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Thomas Davidson, and secured a religious plot at Highbury. By 1913 he had created the Arsenal Stadium, a ground fit for a top club and was the first to be known as the home of football. A World War? Great! The war was to intervene the next year but when you have an impeccable eye for the main chance this becomes, not a disaster, but an opportunity. Arsenal were barely above a midtable 2nd division team but when the war ended, the man who had spent his days giving bribes for building permissions got several men onside in Charlie Roberts, Eric Shawn, Dick Fitzwell and Phil McCracken (all chairmen of Football League clubs in 1919) to accept bribes, to get a free promotion to the top league. By 1927 this all came out and all were banned from football forever. Arsenal kept their spot, though, as many years had passed. The horrors of war - no, an opportunity Getting Arsenal into the top flight meant that he could get Herbert Chapman, the man who had worked miracles at Huddersfield, to take over. A bit like getting Pep Guardiola today. Although it took a bit of time, Chapman was to make Arsenal the top team in England for more than 20 years as those that came after him built on the strong foundations. Between 1930 and 1953 we won 7 league titles and 3 FA cups and probably more if the war hadn’t intervened for 6 years. Chapman gives us the glory But Chapman could have done nothing if Henry Norris had not taken over Arsenal in 1910, created the mighty Arsenal Stadium, corruptly got Arsenal into the First Division and then took on the master to create the greatest football club of its time. The FA Cup in 1930 - the first of many trophies Is it embarrassing to know that a convicted crook made the Arsenal juggernaut? For me, yes, as Chapman was generally regarded as honest (although a canny transfer operator) and Arsenal tried to keep high standards after the Norris epoch. We cannot get away from the fact that the top Freemason of his day manipulated people to dishonestly advance the Arsenal. Legal, illegal, schemegal! Nowadays, as I explained in last week’s blog here, all top clubs will chase any margin they can to get ahead, whether legal or not. If Henry Norris was around today, he sounds like the perfect man to make sure we win and keep on winning. Fans don’t really seem to care as long as that is happening. So maybe we should all hail the 23rd of July, the birthday of Henry Norris as the most important date in Arsenal’s history. Without him we may well be like Gnome Athletic, Barnes football club, and Hawks fc, another three football clubs from London who are long gone and forgotten. The guy who came from nowhere and took a team from nowhere and brought both to the top while sacrificing himself so that Arsenal could be the greatest, probably deserves far more recognition. Now, compared to the crooks that run football, he seems more like a guy that dived to get a penalty or pulled the keeper's jersey at a corner. Let’s get him the biggest statue of all. He built Arsenal. We will need a new motto We may have to change our motto, though – Victoria per fraudem et corruptionem– is more appropriate. Ah, well.

Invincible: Arsène Wenger the movie, a review Our ACE arrives Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger = ACE Wenger and he was by far the greatest Arsenal manager in my lifetime, definitely our ace. This documentary is, in many ways, a sad reflection of the end of his days at his beloved Arsenal. Yes, it celebrates his life, his early days, the glory years and above all the invincible season, but perhaps its greatest feat is showing the ordinary man behind the genius, the guy out jogging, being put under stupid interrogation by journalists (?) at the start of his sojourn, and the heartbreak evident in his face as he got pushed out of Arsenal. His top achievement as a player One sure thing I can say about Arsène, is he never boasted about himself, he had a humble upbringing in a small town in France, it was just after the war and everything was scarce. And if he had a humble background, it was even more so in football. He was well down the ladder and it took time to climb himself upwards. Implicit in this film is that he realized he would never be a master footballer so he dedicated himself to the process of becoming a virtuoso coach and manager in his twenties. Slowly his talent was recognized. His ability to work with people is unsurpassed, it is hard to think of anyone who has a bad word to say about him. In contrast to his two biggest rivals, Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, who have plenty of players with nothing but bitterness towards them. Jaap Stam, Luke Shaw, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Gordon Strachan, and Paul Pogba spring to mind but there are plenty more. Love wins out at the end? His greatest achievement, to my mind, documented in this film, is when he came to Arsenal in 1996.He really got an unprecedented amount of abuse and piss-taking. Our own Ian Wright said “who?” when asked about him. He was accused without any basis, that he had a private life scandal. Players thought this was never a football man because he didn’t look the part. No foreign manager had achieved much in England and the English football establishment and media perpetuated this myth. Eh, no, Arsène proved them wrong in spectacular fashion by winning the double in his first full season by playing beautiful football. The Double? Easy! The film has its focus on Arsène Wenger and particularly the invincible year. Us Arsenal fans know all the story and there is nothing much new in this movie. For me, though, the surprising thing is how ordinary Wenger was portrayed in many ways and there is a recurring theme of sadness as a great man is laid low, partly, at least, by idiot fans and an aggressive media. A present from our ACE -London Colney He is regularly shown watching matches from his past in a deserted and bleak warehouse on a very large screen. He is alone, as if he has no friends. It really does look heartbreaking. For me it is strange, as I feel such an intelligent man as Wenger must have known it is not a good depiction as a majority of people still believed in him. I knew at the time we would struggle to replace him. Football had moved on and money was king so a new manager had to operate within Arsenal’s financial constraints and equal Arsène’s achievements. There are few such geniuses out there. Maybe we have found one now in Arteta but it still remains to be seen. Another present from our ACE It shows his final days, the protests by the numptys, the constant barrage by the media, and you can see the confusion and hurt in his face as he tries to comprehend how people cannot see that they are asking the impossible – build a new stadium that befits a top team but costs a fortune, and win major trophies with a very constrained budget just when the super rich are clambering into football and spending whatever they like. 100 million was what it cost to run a top team not so long before for a year, and now it might get you a dud player. Time for a major statue outside The matches leading up to the Invincible year are delineated, the inexorable march towards the title, the draws that knocked us back, the wins that pushed us forward. It was an extraordinary achievement, belatedly recognised by Alex Ferguson in this film as he was dismissive of it at the time, saying it wasn’t a record points total and there were 12 draws. However, this video shows a Ferguson who is a big fan of Arsène. Obviously he had a lot more respect for him at the time than he let on but I do feel that the reality was that there was a great mutual dislike. The strange thing, alluded to here, is that Manchester United offered Arsène the role of manager and he turned it down. Wenger doesn’t say when that happened but it is generally believed to be when Ferguson first said he would retire but then changed his mind. So is it worth watching? I would say so for the non Arsenal fan as it gives glimpses into the man who made Arsenal, with its top class grounds, superb training facilities and high standards. It also shows that success breeds discontent, win and you are expected to keep on winning, fans get cranky, abusive and show no respect or understanding for how greatness is achieved. Fans from say West Ham or Bournemouth would love to have the problems Arsenal fans have. Our ACE had a sense of humour Foe Arsenal fans it gives us insight into how a small section of fans were allowed to show their lack of class, how a great man was hounded from his lifetime’s work instead of being allowed to walk away with his head held high when he felt he could contribute better with a different role. He should be like Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish, at every match and applauded. But the overriding feeling instead is that we hurt deeply the man who gave us everything, who took on the Manchester giant who had unlimited cash and gave them a bloody nose. 2 doubles and an Invincible year, 49 matches unbeaten, a record number of FA cups, and yet he is hounded out. He should never had had to experience that and maybe that is why he agreed to be portrayed as an ordinary man watching matches alone in a dark and bleak warehouse. His last day -we will never see his like again Arsène, you were the greatest in my time, you brought in incredible players and you nurtured many others. The football was exciting, the chasing down of teams, the quest for cups, the huge teams coming to Highbury and the Emirates, the respect garnered from every quarter of football and above all else, your creation, almost singlehandedly, of the magnificent Emirates Stadium which has enabled Arsenal to stay in touch with the big boys. That is the one aspect that I am truly grateful for, that Arsenal are among the big boys, and we achieved it with a man whose integrity is unsurpassed in football. Our heads are high in the air with the man who offered Sheffield United a replay as he called foul on himself. Nobody in football wants to do that but he did. A giant among giants and he is ours. Our ACE. Merci beaucoup Monsieur Wenger et merci pour les merveilleux sentiments que vous m'avez donnés.