LES: OUR FANS WEREN’T GUNNER LOVE GEORGE
IN his many years in football, Les Ferdinand thought he had heard every version of every chant.
But, in March 1999, one resounded around Wembley that left him dumbfounded.
Ferdinand was part of the Tottenham team that had beaten Leicester in the League Cup Final for the club’s first trophy in eight years.
As the final whistle blew, “Man in the Raincoat’s Blue and White Army” was sung by the Spurs fans.
The man in question was manager George Graham.
According to Ferdinand, he was one of the best managers he had ever worked with in his career. But to many Spurs On September 16, 1998, the Union Jack dress worn by the Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is sold at Sotheby’s for £41,320 fans, Graham’s strong Arsenal pedigree meant he would never be accepted. His name could never be sung.
Graham had taken over in late September 1998 after Christian Gross had endured a nightmare start to the season.
Ferdinand said: “I believe we could have finished much higher in the Premier League – possibly second – if George had been put in charge earlier.
“But the simple fact is that so many fans were never going to accept him because of his history with Arsenal. That was a great shame. But because of his time at Arsenal as a player and manager, there was always going to be a problem winning over Spurs fans.”