David Rocastle 1967 - 2001 R.I.P.
...Around twenty years ago, when Snowy was still a young teen, we played Spurs in the Semi-Final of the League Cup. At the time, winning the League Championship seemed an impossible dream. All that mattered to Snowy was being the best team in North London, and for much of the nineteen eighties, Spurs had the best players and played the better football. For virtually all of that Semi-Final Spurs were in front, until the final minutes of the replay at White Hart Lane, when David Rocastle scored the dramatic winner. That goal changed everything. Snowy knows, he was one of those twenty thousand plus Gooners crammed into the South Terrace. It was his "Woodstock", an occasion that will never be forgotten by any Arsenal fan that was fortunate enough to be there. In the Final at the Old Wembley, Snowy's brother and he watched as another North Bank idol, Charlie Nicholas, scored twice to clinch the Cup against the then mighty Liverpool. A year or two later, Arsenal (without Snowy, he was still at school and his parents would not let him travel to Liverpool), achieved an even greater feat, by clinching the League Championship with the last kick of the season at Anfield. Our first league title since 1971 was won in Liverpool, but make no mistake, the victory was forged on that momentous night in North London at White Hart Lane.
Since that time, with Mr Wenger, we have gone on to another level. However: Always remember the importance of Rocky's Goal. Sing his name proudly at Ashburton Grove and never forget the part he played in restoring our pride and self-belief.
...Around twenty years ago, when Snowy was still a young teen, we played Spurs in the Semi-Final of the League Cup. At the time, winning the League Championship seemed an impossible dream. All that mattered to Snowy was being the best team in North London, and for much of the nineteen eighties, Spurs had the best players and played the better football. For virtually all of that Semi-Final Spurs were in front, until the final minutes of the replay at White Hart Lane, when David Rocastle scored the dramatic winner. That goal changed everything. Snowy knows, he was one of those twenty thousand plus Gooners crammed into the South Terrace. It was his "Woodstock", an occasion that will never be forgotten by any Arsenal fan that was fortunate enough to be there. In the Final at the Old Wembley, Snowy's brother and he watched as another North Bank idol, Charlie Nicholas, scored twice to clinch the Cup against the then mighty Liverpool. A year or two later, Arsenal (without Snowy, he was still at school and his parents would not let him travel to Liverpool), achieved an even greater feat, by clinching the League Championship with the last kick of the season at Anfield. Our first league title since 1971 was won in Liverpool, but make no mistake, the victory was forged on that momentous night in North London at White Hart Lane.
Since that time, with Mr Wenger, we have gone on to another level. However: Always remember the importance of Rocky's Goal. Sing his name proudly at Ashburton Grove and never forget the part he played in restoring our pride and self-belief.
