Highbury: The Story Of Arsenal In N5

by Jon Spurling

Kicking off with the story of the original “soccer czar,” Sir Henry Norris, who bulldozed through opposition to move Woolwich Arsenal to north London, Jon Spurling's all-encompassing history of Arsenal's time at Highbury features testimony from a myriad of sources—from the peanut sellers, turnstile operators, local publicans and fans, through the likes of Bob Wilson, Liam Brady, George Graham, and Lee Dixon. An unflinching look at the last century in the club's history, this compendium tells the story of local opposition to the club's move, the construction of the impressive art deco East and West stands in the thirties, the assembling of the various title-winning sides, and culminates in the story of local opposition to the club's more recent move in 2004. Having written three previous titles on Arsenal's history, Jon Spurling is well placed to produce this definitive volume.

Genres: Sports, Football, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2006

Reviews

[John Newcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a wonderfully evocative set of memories of my life and before.

[Elan Crocker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fan-*******-tastic.

Now how do we get the younger generation to read this? Football is galloping at such a pace that we need the time to read up our history.

All of a sudden, the players of the 1930’s don’t feel too far away to me anymore. They’re all just men, aged 17-38, playing for a club on a patch of grass in Highbury. Everything is the same but is different.

My only problem is that I now feel convinced moving from Highbury was a mistake... but we have a duty to make Ashburton Grove home by giving it our soul.

If you’ve not, go check out Highbury.

Or watch ‘The Arsenal Stadium Mystery’ (1939) on YouTube, great stuff.

[Tom Bain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sheer breadth of this as an oral history is really impressive and it succeeds in building a collection of memories that feels distinctly local to Highbury. Spurling and the fans he speaks to feel knowledgeable, passionate and grounded. Unfortunately the structure and approach gets a little repetitive over time, and the decision to cover home games exclusively means that big moments or arcs of Arsenal history feel incomplete or missing.

[Michael Faulkner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good history of my beloved Highbury, the finest football stadium ever in existence.
I now feel very fortunate that I was able to attend matches at this magnificient stadium many times over a course of 44 years (1971-2005).
Spurling writes with the familiary of his subject very much in play, & this is an enjoyable read of the Gunner's 93 year history in the Arsenal Stadium.

[Eddie Hillion · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started supporting Arsenal in the 60's. For me, this is an excellent record of many happy times spent at Highbury. The book also records changing attitudes to many subjects in life through those years of that fabulous old stadium. 5⭐'s

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 2009

Excellent Arsenal history which stands out from others due to: even handed treatment of all decades; interviews with not just fans and players/managers but interesting characters (lottery ticket sellers, builders, a ticket tout, the first mascot, fanzine editors) and relatives of others (such as the sons of early fans and those who opposed the move of the Woolwich “interlopers”; concentration only on events occurring at Highbury and so not Cup Finals, Anfield 1989 etc.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book. A wonderfully evocative overview of Arsenal's time at Highbury, from the move from south London to the lateral jump to the new Emirates stadium. Full of fantastic memories.