Graham’s Arsenal v Keegan’s Newcastle

[Aus Fox]

So this follows on from a Sunday afternoon pub conversation.

 

You are a season ticket holder, go every week home and away to follow your team. Would you rather your team played like George Graham’s Arsenal - turgid football, men behind the ball, boring to watch, but lots of 1-0 wins and ultimately successful and you win the league or Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle - fast attacking football, lots of goals, a you score 3, we’ll score 4 type philosophy… but come what May you’re trophyless and finished 2nd.

 

It comes down to winning with boring football or falling short with fast exciting football?

[westernpark]

5 minutes ago, Aus Fox said:

So this follows on from a Sunday afternoon pub conversation.

 

You are a season ticket holder, go every week home and away to follow your team. Would you rather your team played like George Graham’s Arsenal - turgid football, men behind the ball, boring to watch, but lots of 1-0 wins and ultimately successful and you win the league or Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle - fast attacking football, lots of goals, a you score 3, we’ll score 4 type philosophy… but come what May you’re trophyless and finished 2nd.

 

It comes down to winning with boring football or falling short with fast exciting football?

I don’t think football is like either of those teams now. 

[Aus Fox]

11 minutes ago, westernpark said:

I don’t think football is like either of those teams now. 

Maybe not, they were just the examples we used for the discussion we had today. The question really is, as a football fan who goes to games - do you just want success and to win the league and you don’t care how boring the journey is, or do you want to be entertained, even if you don’t win anything?

[Nalis]

If you've already won a heap of trophies then it's probably a few seasons of Keegan followed by a few seasons of Graham. If you are a Everton, Spurs, Villa or Newcastle fan whose clubs that have won almost nothing this century, it's Graham football.

 

Newcastle 90s football would be entertaining but frustrating as hell if you didn't have any trophies to show for it.

Edited 2 June 2024 by Nalis

[westernpark]

1 hour ago, Aus Fox said:

Maybe not, they were just the examples we used for the discussion we had today. The question really is, as a football fan who goes to games - do you just want success and to win the league and you don’t care how boring the journey is, or do you want to be entertained, even if you don’t win anything?

Always success then and a team that is the most pragmatic it can be.

[filbertway]

Almost every coach aspires to be George Graham these days, a coach that actually cares more about their team scoring than stopping the other team scoring is a rare jewel.

 

I've always been of the attitude that in a perfect world if I know my team is going to finish 10th, i'd take more joy out of scoring 80 and conceding 80 than I would if my team scored 40 but only conceded 40.

 

Obviously you ultimately want success but for me, there's nothing like the anticipation of watching a genuinely entertaining team, either as a fan or a neutral.

[bovril]

Probably Graham's Arsenal. Must be gutting for Newcastle fans to think back to 95/96 and how they blew it. That team is probably remembered as much for "I'd luv it" as the scintillating football they played at times.

[Fox92]

No brainier for me. Graham's Arsenal and win the league.

 

Newcastle have nothing to show how attacking they were.

[MattFox]

Keegan’s Newcastle scored less than United in 95/96…

 

 

[Kinowe Soorie]

All about the wins and trophies. Playing fantastic football and not achieving anything has always seemed pointless to me.

[bovril]

1 hour ago, MattFox said:

Keegan’s Newcastle scored less than United in 95/96…

 

 

And Liverpool. They had a very similar GF/GA record to us in 15/16 (we actually scored more), but we are remembered for grinding out 1-0 victories. 

[bovril]

Arsenal also scored more goals than 95/96 Newcastle in their two league wins under Graham. 

[MattFox]

Grahams 90/91 side are probably the most underrated league winners of the modern era

[Corky]

Couldn't we actually have had both at Leicester? Graham was linked when Taylor was sacked and I'm sure I read that the current ownership liked Keegan (he hadn't long left his second spell at Newcastle).