George Graham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
George Graham

Graham in 1970
Personal information
Full name	George Graham
Date of birth	(1944-11-30) 30 November 1944 (age 80)
Place of birth	Bargeddie, Scotland
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder, forward
Youth career
1959–1961	Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1961–1964	Aston Villa	8	(2)
1964–1966	Chelsea	72	(35)
1966–1972	Arsenal	227	(60)
1972–1974	Manchester United	43	(2)
1974–1976	Portsmouth	61	(5)
1976–1977	Crystal Palace	44	(2)
1978	California Surf	17	(0)
Total		472	(106)
International career
1964–1965	Scotland U23	2	(0)
1971–1973	Scotland	13	(3)
Managerial career
1982–1986	Millwall
1986–1995	Arsenal
1996–1998	Leeds United
1998–2001	Tottenham Hotspur
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

George Graham (born 30 November 1944) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He was known as "Stroller" during his playing days.

He played in 455 games in England's Football League. He played as a midfielder or forward. His teams included Aston Villa, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Portsmouth, and Crystal Palace. About half of his games were for Arsenal. He was part of the team that won the Football League Championship and FA Cup double in 1971. Graham also played 17 games for California Surf in the NASL in 1978.

After playing, he became a coach at Crystal Palace. He then joined Terry Venables as a coach at Queens Park Rangers. As a manager, he won many awards with Arsenal between 1987 and 1995. These included two league titles (in 1989 and 1991). He also won the 1993 FA Cup and two Football League Cups (in 1987 and 1993). In addition, he won the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup. He also managed Millwall, Leeds United, and Tottenham Hotspur.

George Graham was one of Arsenal's most successful managers. He was in charge for almost ten years. He left the club after an investigation by the Football Association. This investigation was about payments he received during player transfers. Graham was banned from football for a year. He always said the money was an "unsolicited gift."

Early Life and Football Dreams

George Graham was born in Bargeddie, Scotland, on 30 November 1944. He was the youngest of seven children. He grew up in a family that faced tough times.

From a young age, George showed great talent in football. Big clubs like Newcastle United, Chelsea, and Aston Villa were interested in signing him.

Playing Career Highlights

Starting at Aston Villa

In 1959, when he was 15, Graham received offers from Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Newcastle United. He visited all three clubs to see their training places. He chose Aston Villa because he and his family liked the manager, Joe Mercer. He first played for their youth team. In 1961, on his 17th birthday, he signed as a professional player. He spent five seasons at the Birmingham club. He played only ten games for the main team. One of these was the club's 1963 League Cup final. They lost to Birmingham City.

Moving to Chelsea

Chelsea signed Graham in July 1964 for £5,000. He scored 35 goals in 72 league games for the club. He also won a League Cup medal in 1965. However, he and other Chelsea players often had disagreements with their manager, Tommy Docherty.

Success at Arsenal

Bertie Mee's Arsenal needed a new player. They paid £50,000 plus Tommy Baldwin in 1966 to bring Graham to Highbury. He played his first game on 1 October 1966 against Leicester City. Even though they lost 4–2, he quickly became a regular player for Arsenal. He was Arsenal's top scorer in both 1966–67 and 1967–68. He started as a centre forward but later moved to midfield.

With Arsenal, Graham was a runner-up in the 1968 and 1969 League Cup finals. He finally won a medal with the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. He was a key part of Arsenal's Double-winning team in 1970–71. He helped score Arsenal's equalizing goal in the FA Cup Final against Liverpool.

Winning the Double caught the attention of the Scotland team. Graham was chosen to play for Scotland for the first time on 13 October 1971. He played twelve games for Scotland over the next two years. He scored three goals. His last game for Scotland was against Brazil on 30 June 1973. By then, Graham was no longer an Arsenal player. Another player, Alan Ball, joined Arsenal in 1971–72. This made Graham's place in the team less certain. In total, he played 308 matches for Arsenal, scoring 77 goals. His last game was on 4 November 1972.

Later Playing Years

Graham moved to Manchester United in December 1972 for £120,000. He played for two years at United. The team was moved down to Division Two in 1974. He was then sold to Portsmouth during the 1974–75 season.

Graham finished his playing career in England at Portsmouth and Crystal Palace. In the summer of 1978, he played in America for the California Surf.

Managerial Career

Leading Millwall to Success

After he stopped playing in 1978, Graham became a youth team coach at Crystal Palace. Then, from October 1980, he coached at Queens Park Rangers. On 6 December 1982, he became the manager of Millwall. At that time, Millwall was at the bottom of the old Third Division. Graham quickly improved the team. They avoided being moved down that season. The next season, they finished 9th. In 1984–85, they were promoted to the old Second Division. Graham left Millwall in 1986.

Transforming Arsenal

Graham's success at Millwall got the attention of top clubs. When Don Howe left as Arsenal manager in March 1986, Arsenal offered Graham the job. On 14 May 1986, Arsenal appointed Graham as their new manager.

Arsenal had not won a major trophy since 1979. They were not among the top teams in the League. Graham quickly made changes to the team. He brought in new players and used young players from the youth team. He also made the team much more disciplined. Arsenal's performance improved right away. The club was at the top of the League by Christmas 1986. Arsenal finished fourth in Graham's first season. But they went on to win the 1987 League Cup. They beat Liverpool 2–1 at Wembley. Key players were young defender Tony Adams and winger Martin Hayes.

Arsenal lost the League Cup final the next year. But they continued to play well in the league. Graham's team had a strong defense. This defense included his young captain Tony Adams, Lee Dixon, Steve Bould, and Nigel Winterburn. These players would be the core of the club's defense for over ten years. Graham also built a strong midfield. It included David Rocastle, Paul Davis, Michael Thomas, and Paul Merson. Striker Alan Smith scored many goals each season.

At the end of Graham's third season (1988–89), Arsenal won their first League title since 1971. This happened in a very exciting way. It was the final game of the season against Liverpool at Anfield. Arsenal needed to win by two goals to take the title. Alan Smith scored early in the second half. As time ran out, Arsenal still needed another goal. With only seconds left, Michael Thomas ran through the Liverpool defense. He calmly scored the goal, and Arsenal became League Champions.

After finishing fourth in 1989–90, Graham signed goalkeeper David Seaman and Swedish winger Anders Limpar. Both players were very important. Arsenal won a second title in 1990–91. They lost only one league game all season.

In 1991, Graham signed a new striker, Ian Wright, from Crystal Palace. Wright would go on to break the club's goal-scoring records. Arsenal entered the European Cup for the first time in twenty years. However, they were knocked out early. The 1991–92 season brought more disappointment. Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wrexham.

After this season, Graham changed his team's playing style. They became more defensive. The team relied mostly on goals from Ian Wright. Between 1992–93 and 1994–95, Arsenal scored fewer goals per season.

Graham's Arsenal became specialists in cup competitions. In 1992–93, they were the first team to win both the FA Cup and League Cup in the same season. They beat Sheffield Wednesday in both finals. The next season, they won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, their second European trophy. In the final, Arsenal beat Parma 1–0. Alan Smith scored the winning goal.

The 1994 Cup Winners' Cup was Graham's last trophy with Arsenal. On 21 February 1995, Graham left his job. This happened after an investigation by the Premier League. The Football Association banned him for a year. He had received a payment from a Norwegian agent. Graham said it was an "unsolicited gift."

Managing Leeds United

After his ban, Graham returned to football management. He joined Leeds United in September 1996. He replaced Howard Wilkinson. Graham's defensive strategies soon worked well. Leeds kept many clean sheets (games without letting opponents score). By the end of the season, Leeds had moved up to 11th place. They scored few goals but conceded even fewer.

In the 1997–98 season, Leeds scored more goals. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was signed and scored many goals. Leeds finished 5th in the league. This was Graham's only full season in charge.

Graham left Leeds to return to London. He took over at Tottenham on 1 October 1998.

Time at Tottenham Hotspur

Five months after joining Tottenham Hotspur, Graham led the club to victory. They beat Leicester City in the 1999 League Cup Final. This win earned them a spot in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup. Even though he won a trophy, Tottenham did not finish higher than tenth in the Premier League under him.

Tottenham reached the semi-finals of the 2000–01 FA Cup. Graham was looking forward to playing against his old club, Arsenal. However, he was dismissed five days later, on 16 March 2001. The club stated it was for a breach of contract. Graham said he was "shocked and upset" by the decision.

Life After Management

After leaving Tottenham, Graham did not return to managing football clubs. He worked as a football expert on Sky TV for several years. He also commented on FA Cup Finals that featured Arsenal.

He was considered for several managing jobs after 2001. These included Leicester City, West Ham United, and Aston Villa. However, none of these opportunities worked out.

Personal Life

On 16 September 1967, Graham married Marie Zia. His close friend Terry Venables was his best man. The couple had two children. Their marriage ended in 1988.

Graham married Susan Schmidt on 13 December 1998. They live in Hampstead, London.

In 2009, Graham shared that he has arthritis. He enjoys golf but has not played much due to his condition. He also started playing tennis.

Images for kids

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  Graham in 1970

See also

In Spanish: George Graham (futbolista) para niños