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1968–69 Arsenal F.C. season

During the 1968–69 English football season, Arsenal Football Club competed in the Football League First Division. The team finished fourth in the league, an improvement on their ninth place finish the previous season.

Arsenal
1968–69 season
ChairmanDenis Hill-Wood
ManagerBertie Mee
First Division4th
FA CupFifth Round
League CupFinalists
Top goalscorerLeague:
John Radford (15)
All:
John Radford (19)
Highest home attendance62,218 vs Manchester United (26 December 1968)
Lowest home attendance23,891 vs Ipswich Town (19 February 1969)

Arsenal reached the final of the League Cup, losing 3-1 to Swindon Town in extra time. It was their second League Cup loss in two years. Arsenal went out in the fifth round of the FA Cup to West Brom.

John Radford was the top scorer in both the league and all competitions.[1] The previous season's top scorer, George Graham, began to feature in midfield. Frank McLintock served as captain.[2]

Season summary

Despite making several large bids, Arsenal did not bring in any major new players for the 1968-69 season. The team began the season with a victory at White Hart Lane, their first in eleven seasons. It kickstarted their best start to a season in twenty years, going eleven games unbeaten until a defeat at Elland Road.[3]

Much of the 1968-69 season was represented in player growth. Bob Wilson, a former schoolteacher, improved markedly between the sticks. Peter Simpson became a more complete central defender, and manager Bertie Mee began to experiment with playing George Graham in midfield as his lack of pace was affecting his ability to play as a forward.[3]

In the League Cup, Arsenal once again reached the final. Arsenal had showed their mettle in the semifinals against Tottenham with Radford scoring a crucial goal in the last minutes of the encounter at Highbury. Arsenal were to face Third Division side Swindon Town in the final. Wembley was in poor condition due to the International Horse of the Year Show, compounded by heavy rainfall.[4] Upon match day, eight Arsenal players had just recovered from the flu while several Swindon players were recovering from injury. Arsenal, after a league record of letting in 18 goals in 30 games, conceded to Swindon in the 34th minute.[3] The team recovered, playing against Swindon's second-half 9-1-0 formation, four minutes before time.[4] Bobby Gould scored the equalizer.[5] The game went into extra time, the pitch laden with mud. Don Rogers scored twice for Swindon in extra time and Arsenal lost their second League Cup final in two years.[3][4]

Arsenal finished the season in fourth place, buoyed by their strong defensive record. They showed the ability to put streaks of success together, putting together a string of 6 consecutive wins with only one goal conceded in the middle of the season. Arsenal was becoming a team that could focus and find success, proved in their two League Cup finals and to be followed up with tangible successes in the coming seasons.[6]

Final league table

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGAvPtsQualification or relegation
2Liverpool422511663242.62561Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
3Everton422115677362.13957
4Arsenal422212856272.07456Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round[a]
5Chelsea4220101273531.37750
6Tottenham Hotspur4214171161511.19645
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

Results

Arsenal's score comes first[7]

Legend

WinDrawLoss

Football League First Division

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
10 August 1968Tottenham HotspurA2–156,280
13 August 1968Leicester CityH3–032,164
17 August 1968LiverpoolH1–143,535
21 August 1968Wolverhampton WanderersA0–036,006
24 August 1968Ipswich TownA2–125,825
27 August 1968Manchester CityH4–140,776
31 August 1968Queen's Park RangersH2–144,407
7 September 1968SouthamptonA2–125,126
14 September 1968Stoke CityH1–028,275
21 September 1968Leeds UnitedA0–239,946
28 September 1968SunderlandH0–035,277
5 October 1968Manchester UnitedA0–061,843
9 October 1968Manchester CityA1–133,830
12 October 1968Coventry CityH2–135,240
19 October 1968West Bromwich AlbionA0–135,624
26 October 1968West Ham UnitedH0–059,533
9 November 1968Newcastle UnitedH0–034,168
16 November 1968Nottingham ForestA2–024,550
23 November 1968ChelseaH0–145,588
30 November 1968BurnleyA1–016,264
7 December 1968EvertonH3–140,108
14 December 1968Coventry CityA1–027,332
21 December 1968West Bromwich AlbionH2–030,785
26 December 1968Manchester UnitedH3–062,300
11 January 1969Sheffield WednesdayH2–039,008
18 January 1969Newcastle UnitedA1–234,227
1 February 1969Nottingham ForestH1–135,585
15 February 1969BurnleyH2–027,614
18 February 1969Ipswich TownH0–223,891
1 March 1969Sheffield WednesdayA5–021,436
22 March 1969Queen's Park RangersA1–023,076
24 March 1969Tottenham HotspurH1–043,972
29 March 1969SouthamptonH0–028,740
31 March 1969LiverpoolA1–144,843
5 April 1969SunderlandA0–023,214
7 April 1969Wolverhampton WanderersH3–131,011
8 April 1969Leicester CityA0–035,573
12 April 1969Leeds UnitedH1–244,715
14 April 1969ChelseaA1–238,905
19 April 1969Stoke CityA3–114,996
21 April 1969West Ham UnitedA2–134,941
29 April 1969EvertonA0–139,689

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R34 January 1969Cardiff CityA0–055,316
R3 R7 January 1969Cardiff CityH2–052,681
R425 January 1969Charlton AthleticH2–055,760
R512 February 1969West Bromwich AlbionA0–150,354

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R24 September 1968SunderlandH1–028,460
R325 September 1968Scunthorpe UnitedA6–117,450
R415 October 1968LiverpoolH2–139,299
R529 October 1968BlackpoolH5–132,321
SF L120 November 1968Tottenham HotspurH1–055,237Radford
SF L24 December 1968Tottenham HotspurA1–156,923
F15 March 1969Swindon TownN1–398,189Gould

Squad

[1]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos. NationPlayer
-MF  ENGPeter Storey
-MF  SCOEddie Kelly
-FW  ENGRay Kennedy
-FW  ENGJohn Radford
-FW  ENGCharlie George
-FW  SCOPeter Marinello

References

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