Читать книгу To Cap It All - Kenny Sansom - Страница 27

We were a great bunch of mates who had bonded together so well that I have to wonder how far we would have gone as a team had we all stayed together longer – we were that good.

It had been Malcolm Allison who’d transformed the club in the seventies and who had laid the foundations for El Tel to take over and guide us back to the First Division in 1979. We were the team of the eighties and all of us had an absolutely fantastic time. Unfortunately, the promise of a decade of brilliance was dashed and, by 1981, Palace were relegated. Terry was vilified in the media, but of course, in true Venables style, he took all the controversy in his stride.

As for me, I was about to fly the nest, off to pastures new.

In the summer of 1980, when I was 21 years old, a bizarre week took place that saw my popularity soar to an all-time high and life change for ever.

It was a sunny summer’s day (a Monday, as I recall) when Terry Venables called me to his office and offered me a 5-year contract to stay at Crystal Palace. I was delighted about this, as I was really happy there, but then he called me back into his office the following day and said he’d had Arsenal on the phone and did I want to go over to Highbury and have a word with them? I was curious, but didn’t think too much about going over to Highbury other than that it would be good to have a look around the historical ground.

I was ushered quickly through the door leading into the East Stand before being taken to see Ken Friar over in the West Stand. It was all very impressive for a young impressionable lad like me, and I was flattered when I was asked if I wanted to play for the Arsenal.

Did I want to play for the Arsenal? Was he having a laugh?

‘That would be terrific,’ I gulped.

And that was that. Canny old Friar signed me up on the spot before any other deals could be struck up with other clubs.

I telephoned home to let my mum know I’d signed for the Arsenal and my brother Peter answered. ‘Don’t tell me you just went there and signed up just like that.’ He was aghast. ‘But I’ve had Bob Paisley on the phone and Liverpool want you – you could get a better deal and they’ll even give you accommodation.’

But it was too late. I was going to Arsenal. I was staying in London and that was what I wanted more than anything in the world.

Later, when I sat across the table watching the now-familiar Terry Venables grin spread across his face, we talked about the deal in more detail.

He was just about to sign a deal with Ken Friar that astonished many – not least of all the Arsenal fans. Some were asking if the board of directors and management at Highbury had gone off their rockers. Arsenal fanzines were full of questions. ‘Why on earth would the Arsenal swap the great striker Clive Allen, who he’d only recently signed and had yet to play a game, for a young left-back from Crystal Palace? And in a bizarre million-pound-plus deal to boot.’

The newspapers went crazy, as did the Gooners (the Gunners’ fans). Would these fanatical fans accept me into the Highbury fold or did I have a tough time ahead of me? Only time would tell.

But, before we move on to Highbury, let’s have a taste of England in the seventies.