Following on from this morning’s post, another instalment of the brief history of Arsenal in the United States of America.

The Zenith Data Systems Challenge Trophy. Not to be confused with the Zenith Data Systems Cup, a trophy the Football League conceived whilst English clubs were banned from Europe as a result of the Heysel Tragedy.  To their credit, the Arsenal board declined the invitation to participate in that competition during the seven seasons it ran, no matter what guise it appeared under. Chelsea meanwhile list their two triumphs as domestic honours which is stretching the description to breaking point. It isn’t as bad as Tottenham whose delusions of being a big club are snapped by listing the Norwich Hospital Charity Cup, Ipswich Hospital Charity Cup and Costa Del Sol Tournaments in their silverware section.

And yes, I did check the “Honours” section of Arsenal’s site just to make sure…

Arsenal’s last visit to the USA was for one game only, facing Independiente the Argentine champions in the Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. The press dubbed it the “Unofficial World Club Championship“; Little England was alive and kicking in world football.

For Arsenal it was a welcome experience. FIFA had rescinded their ban on English clubs playing friendlies against foreign teams in December 1985. One by-product of FIFAs ban was that Glenn Hoddle’s testimonial against Aberdeen was cancelled and Arsenal stepped in as a late replacement. Yes, that’s Aberdeen in Scotland, not one of the other similarly named towns or cities from around the world. Yes, that’s Scotland, the bit appended to the north of England.

Crockett and Tubbs were nowhere to be seen when Arsenal flew in during early August 1989 and the sparseness of the crowd suggested that everybody else had left town as well. The official attendance of 10,042 was absolutely lost in the stadium with its capacity of around 75,000. ITV beamed the match back to the UK and with the pedestrian pace of the game affected by the kick-off at the height of the day. During the build-up, George Graham observed that “(Americans) have a mere five years to wake up before the rest of the world watches them at the World Cup.” It wasn’t just the fans but the reporting as well as the pre- and post- match coverage locally seemed entirely underwhelmed by it all.

It was anything but a friendly though, two players sent off along with Arsenal physio, Gary Lewin. It seems inconceivable that a physiotherapist would be dismissed in the modern game – my age betrays me in classing 1989 outside of that – yet it happened with fifteen minutes to go. The reports below call the referee’s style “idiosyncratic“; most of us who saw the game recall thinking the middle six letters could have been dispensed with.

Tony Adams was pivotal in both goals as AFC Guildford‘s videos show; David Rocastle netted them both. It’s still hard to believe he is gone.

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The match must have been lucrative for the club. Arguably their tour to Scandinavia (two wins and a draw) along with retaining the Makita Trophy following single-goal victories over Porto and Liverpool, left them in good shape for the coming season. It didn’t get off to the best of starts with defeat in the Charity Shield against Liverpool six days after this game before the horrendous defeat at Old Trafford, complete with Michael Knighton’s ball juggling antics in front of the Stretford End. The much talked of power shift from Merseyside to London never materialised that season. Despite briefly flirting with the top of the table, they fell out of contention at Christmas, ending the campaign in a disappointing fourth place

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Had UEFA not banned competitive games, Arsenal would have been England’s entrants in the European Cup, for the first time since 1971/72 season. That would have to wait for another two seasons but I always thought that this Graham side might have fared better than the 1991/92 campaign. The squad had not been particularly strengthened in the summer yet a win in the first round would have oozed confidence throughout such was their relatively youthful exuberance.

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It was Arsenal’s first meeting with an Argentinian side. In 1968, Estudientes were ordered to pull out of a friendly against Arsenal by the country’s President, Juan Carlos Ongania. They had been on the receiving end of attacks from the Old Trafford faithful following their players assaults on the Manchester United side. Both legs of the Intercontinental Cup continued a trend of violence in the fixtures, culminating in Estudientes own supporters treating the AC Milan similarly twelve months later. European clubs were about to join their Brazilian counterparts in boycotting the matches until FIFA stepped in to organise them.

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Bob Wall, then Arsenal club secretary, notes (see article below right) that Arsenal had lost around £4.4k in terms of ticket sales, the equivalent of £160k in today’s money. It was a lucrative one-off fixture to miss out on especially as the club was not regularly involved in European club competitions at this time. A later article carried by The Guardian on the disproportionate cost of insurance for football clubs suggested that Arsenal could have insured against such eventualities but were already paying £11k (£400k) per annum in premiums so were unlikely to have done so.

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Wall’s suggestion that litigation was not practical backs that up. At the time of writing his book, Arsenal From The Heart! Wall substantiated that Arsenal did submit their claim to FIFA for £25k (£900k) as the newspaper reports suggest. The outcome of the claim remains as much of a mystery as the outcome of the cancellation of Arsenal’s tour to the USA in 1930. Certainly, the newspaper reports at the time showed that the ill-will from Sir Alf Ramsey’s intemperate comments during the 1966 World Cup showed now signs of abating at the time. Wall didn’t hold out much hope of a successful resolution, noting that the club rejected a later offer of a summer match instead on the basis that Estudientes would be less of a box office draw. Football then, as now, is nothing but an extension of the entertainment industry.

Following on from this morning’s post, this is the third instalment of the brief history of Arsenal in the United States of America.

Air travel opened all of the United States of America by the mid-1980s yet Arsenal still made New York their first and only port of call. There is something of a theme; the club likes to do short and sweet stops across the Atlantic, never hanging around to outstay their welcome.

The League Cup was sponsored by the Milk Marketing Board at the time and imaginatively called The Milk Cup. Arsenal were drawn away to Aston Villa in the fifth round and fashioned a one-all draw. Charlie Nicholas’ first half goal was cancelled out and everyone came back to Highbury for a replay. That is, all except the youth and reserve players. They flew to The Big Apple for an exhibition match against the newly formed New York Express.

This was their introduction to the Major Indoor Soccer League was bridged the gap following the demise of the North American Soccer League (NASL) that had provided a home for so many footballers from the English game during the summer months. Pele, Best, Cruyff, Neeskens had been signed for glamour, razzmatazz and most of all, credibility to the game. It didn’t work out that way as the host of other names that made up the numbers had to seek alternative summer employment. It’s worth remembering that point in the arguments over player wages nowadays. It may seem like it but it was not always thus.

Neeskens had been wooed by Arsenal a couple of years earlier with Terry Neill finding his blarney no match for the Yankee dollar when the Dutch midfield maestro left Barcelona. It was a missed opportunity but the newspaper trail from those days shows that it was not through a lack of effort.

New York was synonymous with the Cosmos but with NASL’s collapse, the club’s heirs were Arrows succeeded in turn by Express. Arsenal were helping the latter take their first tentative steps in this by playing the opening night of a five-game exhibition series at Nassau Coliseum, Long Island. The other matches were against Red Star Belgrade, Portugal’s National Indoor team, Brest and, unsurprisingly for New York, an Irish National All-Star XI. Ticket prices for the mtches ranged between $9 – $12. You could probably add a nought to the end of both those figures for today’s market.

Terry Burton managed the Arsenal side that made the journey, a two-part interview with Arsenal America can be found here and here. His side that night reportedly included Paul Merson, Tony Adams and David Rocastle. Burton noted that the players only played competitively indoors twice a year, one of which would gave been the Evening Standard Tournament at Wembley. Their inexperience showed as they trailed 7 – 2 at one point, before pulling it back to 7 – 5 at the full-time whistle. Despite the scoreline, Nicky Hammond, the Arsenal goalkeeper, was cited as Man of the Match or MVP as the Americans call it.

Below are two reports from the Newsday archives whilst there is a New York Times blog here.

by Joe Krupinski, 20th January, 1986

Professional indoor soccer may return to Long Island, if the NewYork Express can get up a full head of steam. “The fans are the ones who will determine what happens,” saidShep Messing, the goalkeeper and president of the new team that will play five exhibition games against international opponents at Nassau Coliseum, starting with Arsenal of England at 7:30 p.m. Friday. “We’re urging them to come out if they want a soccer franchise in New York.”

Messing, 36, of Old Brookville, has believed that Long Island fans would support indoor soccer ever since he became the first player to sign with the Major Indoor Soccer League in 1978.

A former member of the U.S. Olympic Team (Munich, 1972) and the New York Cosmos of the outdoor North American Soccer League (both defunct), he helped to lead the original New York Arrows to four consecutive league championships and wound up coaching the club before it folded under absentee ownership at the close of the 1983-84 season.

“The last two seasons the Arrows were run by a guy from out of state who rolled the dice. His idea was to either make a killing or get out,” Messing said, referring to Arrows owner David Schoenstadt, an anesthesiologist from San Francisco. “There is no way that that kind of arrangement flies in professional sports. The public today is too sophisticated to accept it.”

For the past two years Messing has been determined (“I started the day the Arrows left”) to bring indoor soccer back to Long Island. After a meeting in Manhattan to discuss whether to join an established league or form a new one, he decided on a name for the new team while riding home on the Long Island Railroad.

“No big market research,” Messing said. “I just thought of the Long Island Expressway and it rang a bell.”

The owner of the New York Express is a born-and-bred Long Islander. Stan Henry, a successful 46-year-old businessman who grew up in Wyandanch, now resides in Lloyd Harbor. He operates Chanry Communications of Levittown, which publishes 24 Pennysaver newspapers throughout Long Island.

“For me, this started as a community project to unite Long Island in a single effort. The success of the Islanders had something to do with it,” said Henry, who thus far has spent $250,000 in player salaries and promotion, including a blue-and-orange uniform and team logo that deliberately resembles the hockey team’s. “We {at his Pennysaver company} felt there weren’t enough things going on in Nassau Coliseum – only the Islanders and the circus once a year. When we found out that there were some 180,000 registered junior soccer players in the area, second in the country only to California, we became convinced there was a market for indoor soccer here. Everybody in our organization, from the players to the ticket-office people, lives on Long Island.”

With the help of coach Ray Klivecka, formerly of the Cosmos and the MISL’s Buffalo Stallions, Messing has put together an 18-player roster that blends professional soccer veterans with a crop of homegrown American prospects.

Former Arrow teammates on the roster will be Mark Liveric, Luis Alberto, Marcelo Ferreira, Frantz St-Lot and Tom Mulroy. The homegrown group includes Jack Shannon of the Hicksville American Soccer Club, John Lignos of Freeport, Algernon Lawrence of New York Tech, Alan Bodenstein of Hofstra and Peter Jianetti of Hicksville.

“Our first line is good enough to play with any team in the MISL right now,” Klivecka said. “The foreign teams we’ll be playing might be superior and more skilled. But we’ll have the advantage of being fitter and more organized for the indoor game. There should be some great matches.”

MISL commissioner Francis Dale, traveling from the league’s headquarters in Chicago, will be on hand for a personal look at the Express when it plays Arsenal.

“He’ll be looking mainly to see how many people show up,” said Messing, whose own “magic number” is 7,500 spectators. “But the league is also interested in a totally successful production package including group sales, walkup sales and season-ticket sales, and the presentation of the game as an entertaining show. The MISL is not exactly desperate to take us, but I think they realize that no league in professional sports can consider itself big-time if it doesn’t have a New York franchise.”

A new contract between the MISL and ESPN television network, which includes such major sponsors as Anheuser-Busch, enhances the opportunity for a New York soccer franchise, according to Henry. “The league, the television company and the sponsors,” he said, “all want the New York market included.” * * *

The Express also will play Red Star of Yugoslavia Jan. 31, the Portugese National Indoor team Feb. 19, Brest of France March 9 and the Irish National All-Star team March 16. Tickets are priced at $12 for sideline seats and $9 for goal seats. Group rates and season-package rates are available. Call 579-5095 for ticket information.

The post-match report is below.

by Joe Krupinsky, 25th January, 1986

It took Shep Messing almost 20 minutes to get from the playingfield to the locker room following the game. It seemed that everyyoungster in the Nassau Coliseum last night was leaning out of the stands and asking for his autograph. Indoor soccer returned to Long Island with rousing support from 8,325 fans, as the New York Express made its debut with a 7-5 victory over Arsenal of England.

“I think we proved it tonight,” Messing said, “that indoor soccer has a place on Long Island.” Messing is the president and goalkeeper of the new club that has been started to replace the New York Arrows, who folded in 1984 after winning championships in the first four years of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The Express is playing a series of exhibition games against foreign teams this season to see if fan interest warrants returning a MISL franchise to New York.

“I’m thrilled for two reasons,” said Express owner Stan Henry at halftime. “Everybody I’ve talked to so far says the entertainment is wonderful. And those people who really know soccer tell me that we have put together a team that is better than the Arrows team that left when they left. It’s a hell of a great feeling to be part of this. I’m hoarse from cheering already and it’s only the end of the first half.”

There was plenty to cheer about. After falling behind Arsenal early in the game, the Express rallied with four consecutive goals within a span of four minutes in the second quarter to take a 5-2 halftime lead. The home team extended that advantage to 7-2 in the third period, then coasted.

To the fans it didn’t seem to matter that the opposition was the Arsenal club’s reserves and youth players because the first team had to remain in England for postseason league play. “The regulars would have been here if we didn’t qualify for Cup play,” player-coach Terry Burton said. “We play indoor soccer about twice a year, but I know how important this game was to them {the Express}. I’m pleased for them that they got a turnout. We’re happy to do something to help.”

The teams were not just sparring. There was crowd-pleasing, rough play and all-out rushes at the goalies. “If you ask me, the most valuable players were both goalkeepers,” said Express coach Ray Klivecka, referring to Messing and Arsenal’s Nicky Hammond, who made 22 saves apiece. “They kept the scoring down.”

Peter Jianette of Hicksville was the leading offensive player, scoring three goals while playing on a line with fellow hometowners Jack Shannon and Tom Murray. “We didn’t plan on putting the Hicksville boys together,” Klivecka said. “But they all clicked in practice, so they wound up on the field together.”

Jianette credited the steady play of Arrows veterans Luis Alberto, Mark Liveric, Frantz St-Lot and Marcelo Ferreira with pulling the team together. “They’re all veterans with big hearts,” the 22-year-old Jianette said. “They help everybody by taking us aside and telling us what we’re doing wrong. Their hard work and runs kept us in the ballgame.”

Messing said he was more concerned all week with his duties as club president than he was in polishing his goalkeeping skills. “I didn’t practice,” he said. “I felt rusty and sloppy on some balls off the boards. But I got to where I had to be most of the time. I’m wearing two hats, and tomorrow I’ll be in the office at 7 a.m. planning advertising and promotion strategy for our next game.”

That will be against Red Star of Yugoslavia next Friday night.

Although the playing carpet rented from the St. Louis Steamers had a few wrinkles in it and the programs did not contain the numbers of the players, the fans did not seem to mind. “I have a feeling they’ll be back,” Messing said.

The second post of the day, or if you are visiting the site for the first time today, the first. This morning’s post can be found here.

Twenty-five years on from their last trip to the USA, Arsenal are set to return as the squad departs for the weekend’s match against New York Red Bulls. I initially used ‘touring party’ but for one match, that seemed a bit grandiose. The next few days will focus on the club’s previous trips across the pond beginning with The Tour That Never Was. Or at least, there doesn’t seem to be any trace or record of it taking place.

At the time this was arranged, Arsenal had yet to win their first major trophy. Their only trip to Wembley ended in defeat at the hands of Cardiff in the 1927 FA Cup semi-final. The club’s highest league finish had been second place in 1925/26 which coupled with two FA Cup semi-final defeats did not suggest the imminent arrival of a footballing superpower. That changed in 1930 when the club won the FA Cup for the first time. By the time lucrative offers to play exhibition matches in Europe were received, Arsenal had already committed to travelling to the United States of America to play a match in New York against Scottish champions, Glasgow Rangers, for an unofficial British Championship. It would be some sixty years before the idea was resurrected. A second game between the two would then be held shortly afterwards in Toronto. With less travelling involved in terms of cost and time, it is little wonder that the prospect of playing in Europe was so appealing. Arsenal was a club which had experienced severe financial difficulties which threatened its existence twenty years before.

On 18th March 1930, The Guardian reported that Rangers had all but agreed their contract, with “a few unimportant details [remaining] for settlement“. Interestingly, that short article talks about Arsenal’s visit in the most certain of terms with the unofficial British championship matches practical because the club “will be on tour” in New York at the time and “who are to visit Toronto” after that. A curious turn of phrase since Arsenal’s sole reason for being in New York was to play the Scottish club. Was it the case that the club had received and agreed the contracts or had wires been exchanged and become crossed?

A month later and whatever the deal was, it had turned sour. Once again, The Guardian took up the story, reporting that the United States Football Association had declined Arsenal’s attempt to pull out of their obligations. A Press Association piece was also picked up in the same day’s Daily Mirror. It seemed a head of steam might be building but then came silence; nothing. As far as can be found, there is no further coverage in the national press of whether Arsenal paid any compensation to the organisers. We do know that unusually that season there was no tour so did the club accede to the request from but the reason remains supposition. It isn’t unrealistic however, to tie the two issues together. Records show that only one post-season match was played. On 5th May 1930, Cliff Bastin scored his first hat-trick in an Arsenal shirt in the 7 – 0 win at Northampton.

Complaining to FIFA would not have achieved anything as far as the Football Association were concerned. Their hubris had yet to fully subside over the governing body’s formation twenty-five years previously and they sat on the outside of international football. The World Cup of that year would take place without England or any of the Home Nations participating. It might however, have had an effect on the clubs wishing to play Arsenal at the time. Many of continental Europe’s national associations had joined the world body and as such, it would be no surprise if pressure had been exerted through that route.

What we do know is that no tour in that year took place. Bob Wall’s book, Arsenal From The Heart, devotes a chapter to the international tours undertaken during his time at the club and nothing for 1930 is committed to paper. Interestingly, there is no mention of this proposed tour either. An error of omission or were the USFA duped by unscrupulous persons posing as Arsenal officials? It seems unlikely if a cable was sent to the club.

Given that, as far as can be ascertained, the club never made it to the USA in 1930, perhaps “Arsenal Not In The USA” might be a more apposite title?

’til Tomorrow.