Table of Contents

Chapter Page Introduction xi 1 Irony 1 2 It Could Have Been Different 11 3 Newcastle's Improbable Comeback 35 4 Bolton at the Reebok 45 5 A Confusing Finish to Season 2010-2011 53 6 Wenger and Transfers 59 7 Red and White 69 8 Own goals at Blackburn 77 9 Victory Over Bolton - The Tide Turns 85 10 Longshot Defeat at Tottenham 89 11 Stampede at Stamford Bridge 95 12 Progress Through November 105 13 Christmas & 125 Years Old 111 14 Injuries 121 15 Thierry Henry Returns 129 16 Milan - A Brave Recovery 139 17 A Run of Success 145 18 Beat Man City But Job Not Done 153 19 And so to the Future 165 Epilogue 173 Postscript 179

About the Author

Richard Evans has been an Arsenal fan for sixty years and a journalist almost as long. He has written for every 'Fleet Street' newspaper published since 1956, including many that have long gone like the News Chronicle and Empire News. In the early years, he put on a neutral hat and covered matches at Highbury before switching to a career as a foreign correspondent based in Paris and New York with the occasional sortie to Vietnam. Returning to sports journalism, he wrote biographies of Ilie Nastase and John McEnroe; commented for BBC Radio Five at Wimbledon for twenty years and covered tennis and cricket for The Sunday Times, The Times and Observer. But having caught the irrational bug of the football supporter at an early age, it never left him. This book offers no pretence at neutrality. Evans is a Gooner born and bred.