26 May 1989

As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
Post Reply
Jumpers For Goalposts
Posts: 2245
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 12:42 pm

26 May 1989

Post by Jumpers For Goalposts »

Is it really 26 years?

Am I the only person that spends every minute of this entire day, every year, working out exactly where I was and what I was doing in the build up to Michael Thomas bursting through the midfield???? :lol:

I hope that, before I die, someone invents a time machine so that I can travel back and relive that wonderful night, and the long weekend that followed. . . . . .

Although if it's a time machine, could I travel back after I've died????

User avatar
REB
Posts: 23421
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:40 pm
Location: twitter... @reb1886

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by REB »

i had my 21st that night in a pub full of irish /liverpool with only myself' my dad and uncle shouting for the gooners , what a night :barscarf: :barscarf:

User avatar
DB10GOONER
Posts: 58940
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2007 2:06 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland.
Contact:

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by DB10GOONER »

Jumpers For Goalposts wrote:Is it really 26 years?

Am I the only person that spends every minute of this entire day, every year, working out exactly where I was and what I was doing in the build up to Michael Thomas bursting through the midfield???? :lol:

I hope that, before I die, someone invents a time machine so that I can travel back and relive that wonderful night, and the long weekend that followed. . . . . .

Although if it's a time machine, could I travel back after I've died????
No, I do too. :D Had been let down for a ticket at the last minute and was gutted. But watched it with a mate in a hotel in Dublin surrounded by a mob of scousers over on a stag do. Brilliant night. Remember singing "Empty handed across the Mersey" to the scousers to the tune of "Ferry over the Mersey". :lol: Mousers took it well tbh and bought us a few bevs. Vaguely remember phoning my Dad and telling him I was taking the week off. Literally got pissed up celebrating for a week. 8)

The very words "Thomas bursting through the midfield" still make my spine tingle. 8)

It's one of those seminal moments in life, in history. Where were you when JFK got shot, when The Arsenal won the league at Anfield in 89, and when The Arsenal signed DB10. 8) 8)

arseofacrow
Posts: 6173
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:06 pm
Location: Cologne

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by arseofacrow »

DB10GOONER wrote:
No, I do too. :D Had been let down for a ticket at the last minute and was gutted. But watched it with a mate in a hotel in Dublin surrounded by a mob of scousers over on a stag do. Brilliant night. Remember singing "Empty handed across the Mersey" to the scousers to the tune of "Ferry over the Mersey". :lol: Mousers took it well tbh and bought us a few bevs. Vaguely remember phoning my Dad and telling him I was taking the week off. Literally got pissed up celebrating for a week. 8)

The very words "Thomas bursting through the midfield" still make my spine tingle. 8)

It's one of those seminal moments in life, in history. Where were you when JFK got shot, when The Arsenal won the league at Anfield in 89, and when The Arsenal signed DB10. 8) 8)
...and where you were when a scouser actually bought something.

:shock: :barscarf:

User avatar
DB10GOONER
Posts: 58940
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2007 2:06 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland.
Contact:

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by DB10GOONER »

arseofacrow wrote:
DB10GOONER wrote:
No, I do too. :D Had been let down for a ticket at the last minute and was gutted. But watched it with a mate in a hotel in Dublin surrounded by a mob of scousers over on a stag do. Brilliant night. Remember singing "Empty handed across the Mersey" to the scousers to the tune of "Ferry over the Mersey". :lol: Mousers took it well tbh and bought us a few bevs. Vaguely remember phoning my Dad and telling him I was taking the week off. Literally got pissed up celebrating for a week. 8)

The very words "Thomas bursting through the midfield" still make my spine tingle. 8)

It's one of those seminal moments in life, in history. Where were you when JFK got shot, when The Arsenal won the league at Anfield in 89, and when The Arsenal signed DB10. 8) 8)
...and where you were when a scouser actually bought something.

:shock: :barscarf:
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I'd imagine the money they spent was stolen. :rubchin:

User avatar
flash gunner
Posts: 29236
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:55 am
Location: Armchairsville. FACT.

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by flash gunner »

Watched it at home with my dad, he's now passed away so I'm so glad I did. It's a moment I'll savour forever and it's up there with anything in my life before or after.

Happy St. Mickey day everyone :barscarf: :barscarf:

arseofacrow
Posts: 6173
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:06 pm
Location: Cologne

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by arseofacrow »

flash gunner wrote:Watched it at home with my dad, he's now passed away so I'm so glad I did. It's a moment I'll savour forever and it's up there with anything in my life before or after.

Happy St. Mickey day everyone :barscarf: :barscarf:
:barscarf: :barscarf: :barscarf:

User avatar
Nos89
Posts: 4568
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:44 am

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by Nos89 »

"Its up for grabs now..."
So much classier than
"Agueroooo!!!"

To add we had only spent a few bob on a predominantly English team, with 7 home grown players. What a glorious, glorious night
Put Thomas scoring the goal as a screensaver on a PC at work, where 80% of them support Liverpool, quite brilliantly its still there after I left as they can't change it.
Happy St Mickeys day :barscarf: :barscarf:

Gunner Rob
Posts: 8882
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 3:05 pm

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by Gunner Rob »

this was a one off never to be repeated match.
the top 2 going for the title in the final match of the season and the winner decided with the last kick of the match
the match broadcast live on a Friday night on free to air TV

it was the start of our glory years (yes there was life before Wenger) but nothing can and will ever top that night

User avatar
rodders999
Posts: 19907
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: Diamond Club

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by rodders999 »

Quite simply...........The.Greatest.Night.Ever :barscarf:

And I was only 9 back then and have since discovered breasts and cider but even they can't top the feeling of that night. I remember being in the sitting room watching the game on my own as my dad was away, seconds to go and us cruelly missing out on my first ever title.

Then the next thing I remember was being in a completely different room with no idea how I got there, running around like a complete lunatic drugged up on Michael Thomas.

Funny to think back that in those days my dad had no idea of the result, we take twitter, internet, mobiles, texts so much for granted these days so he only found out we'd won the league when he got back around 2am and saw my Arsenal scarf at the bottom of the stairs (we'd arranged that I would leave it there as a sign if a miracle happened).

Happy, happy days :barscarf:

User avatar
Bradywasking
Posts: 6032
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:14 am

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by Bradywasking »

..Had to work that evening so I took a longish break and went over to a pub across the road, as said there was no contact with the outside world at the time so went into the pub not knowing the score. There was about twenty minutes left and there was also no scoreboard on the screen in those days. asked a bloke what the score was and he said "1-0" .."to who " I said.."the others " was the reply. Waited til it was over , went berserk in the pub and a total stranger hugged me. "Arsenal fan ?" I asked , "no Man U " he said. At that time being a Man U fan meant probably being a genuine one.

Liverpool fans in general were gracious I think, there were a few whinges about "a game too far after Hillsborough" . Aldridge was a prick on the pitch but maybe it was understandable too. Amazing night , the scenes after full time with the fans were brilliant.
Highly respected Irish journalist Con Houilhan wrote the following day "Liverpool's fanatic were on the Kop , Arsenal's were on the pitch"

User avatar
rodders999
Posts: 19907
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: Diamond Club

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by rodders999 »

Aldridge is still a bitter bastard over this, only last year I heard him in an interview talking about that game and he hates Arsenal because of it. When they knocked us out of the champions league a few years back he was doing co-commentary on some victim local radio station and was screaming when they won that it was revenge for '89.

Massive, massive bell end : :censored:

Jumpers For Goalposts
Posts: 2245
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 12:42 pm

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by Jumpers For Goalposts »

It's great to share memories of that wonderful, wonderful night with fellow Gooners and to hear stories that are so similar to mine.

I've turned that day into the best day of my life but in reality the first 22 hours of it were total shite. I was working all week on the south coast in a job that I hated and all day on the 26th I didn't think I was going to get home in time. The journey up to London from Hove was pure torture. Traffic, accidents, roadworks - everything seemed to conspire against me. At several points I resigned myself to missing the match but consoled myself by thinking "It's okay cos we're going to lose anyway".

I got to my parents at about 7.50pm, dropped off my bags and ran down to my best mate's house relieved to be home but never thinking we'd do it. I missed Alan Smith's goal due to a toilet break and shortly after another good old friend arrived. Sadly for him he was a West Ham fan and all of us Gooners gave him dogs abuse saying "if your useless lot hadn't lost 5-1 we'd have won the league".

We had all resigned ourselves to glorious failure when the clock disappeared off the screen and I can still remember someone shouting "why the fuck didn't he kick it?" when John Lukic threw the ball to Lee Dixon.

But how that day changed!!! Just like DB10 I still get tingles down my spine when I even think about that final move from Lukic to Dixon to Smith, off Nichol's knee to Thomas "charging through the midfield. It's up for grabs now. THOMASSSSSSS."

Nothing could ever come close to that day for so many reasons and what makes it even better is to know that so many fellow Gooners remember that wonderful, wonderful day with just as much fondness.

User avatar
Eboue-Why?
Posts: 4216
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:26 pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by Eboue-Why? »

Until my dying day it'll still give me tremendous pleasure to be able to say...'I was there' :barscarf: :barscarf:

Red Snapper
Posts: 979
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:57 pm

Re: 26 May 1989

Post by Red Snapper »

rodders999 wrote:Aldridge is still a bitter bastard over this, only last year I heard him in an interview talking about that game and he hates Arsenal because of it. When they knocked us out of the champions league a few years back he was doing co-commentary on some victim local radio station and was screaming when they won that it was revenge for '89.

Massive, massive bell end : :censored:
All the ex scousers are still bitter about it. Mickey Quinn will mention Bobby diving against Portsmouth during a conversation about stamp collecting but ignore the dozens of times Stevie or Suarez "were entitled to go down"!!

Post Reply