‘George’s attention to detail was sensational’

When George Graham took over as our manager in 1986, he inherited a side that hadn’t won a trophy in seven years.

Yet when he left north London nine years later, he had transformed us into one of Europe’s most effective teams.

 

So how did Graham get his message across?

 

“I always felt that Tony Adams was the link, particularly in the week, where if you had a problem, you’d speak to Tony and he’d go to speak to George,” Nigel Winterburn said. “If the team had a problem, speak to Tony.

 

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“If George wanted to feed something out to the team, he’d probably go through Tony again. In a way, I suppose he could be a little bit scary and a bit stand-offish, but his attention to detail as a manager, particularly in the way he wanted you to play and the way that he analysed the opposition, was absolutely sensational.”

 

Graham’s trophy haul started with that unforgettable night at Anfield in 1989, and continued right the way through to our European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph over Parma five years later.

 

“I think sometimes George’s legacy is lost a little bit since the modern era of football and winning trophies,” Lee Dixon said.

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“In eight years, he won the league championship twice, the league cup twice, the FA Cup and don’t forget the Cup Winners’ Cup. He was hugely successful coming in after a massively barren run as well.”

  

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