To some it might seem unbelievable that a goal scored at a football match at Anfield between Arsenal and Liverpool 20 years ago could be the event around which anyone could write an entire book. But this is exactly what Jason Cowley has done.
Despite a childhood spent in the East End, and with a West Ham- supporting father, the author has been, from an early age, an avid Arsenal fan and wears his Arsenal shirt under his jacket when standing with his father at Upton Park.
This book is certainly not just for Arsenal or Liverpool fans but for all who want to reflect on the huge changes which have taken place in the culture of football over the past 20 years.
The watershed year was 1989. On 26 May, Arsenal needed a two-goal victory over Liverpool at Anfield on the final day of the football championship in order to gain the League title. It was a game they were not expected to win. Cowley, in his final year at Southampton University, had an exam that day and so couldn’t travel to Liverpool.
I, too, had an important clash with the match. I was the Labour candidate in the Vauxhall by-election, due to be held the following week. My agent would not let me take the night off, but did allow me back home to watch the second half. I was Arsenal’s educational adviser and had worked closely with a number of the younger members of the team. Indeed, Michael Thomas, as a resident of Vauxhall, would be appearing in my election address.
Just like every Arsenal supporter throughout the world I remember the last minute of that game as if it were yesterday. We are one-nil up — not enough to claim the title.
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