Bertie Mee's feat
in taking Arsenal to the League and FA Cup Double in
1971 made him one of the most famous names in the
club's history.But his reign began in unusually
modest fashion.He even asked for a
"get-out" clause in his contract if he did
not succeed.
Mee was born at
Bulwell in Nottinghamshire, in December, 1918, and
realised his ambition to become a professional
footballer with Derby County. But the winger's career
was cut short by injury.
After six years service as a sergeant in the Royal
Army Medical Corps, he qualified as a
physiotherapist. He joined Arsenal in August 1960 as
a trainer and then assumed the duties of physio.
His appointment as manager in 1966 was a surprise.
The sacking of Billy Wright was the signal for the
media speculation to begin over which high-profile
figure would be drawn to the marble halls of
Highbury.
But the board of directors decided to appoint
"in house".
Although the appointment of Bertie Mee was acclaimed
retrospectively, the man himself requested that if
his first 12 months should turn out to be a failure,
he would be allowed to go back to his post as physio.
Though Arsenal reached the League Cup Final in 1968
and 1969, they had spent 17 years without a trophy
when they won the Inter Cities Fairs Cup in 1970.
They overcame a 3-1 first leg deficit to beat
Anderlecht.
And in 1971, they emulated the feat of their great
north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, becoming only
the second club of the century to do the Double.At
one stage, Arsenal had trailed Leeds United by seven
points and with Leeds finishing on 64 points, Arsenal
were still one point behind when they played their
last League match, against Spurs at White Hart Lane.
The gates were locked more than an hour before
kick-off with 51,192 spectators inside and many
thousands outside. Bertie Mee always remembered the
atmosphere of the day.
"We gave ourselves an hour for a drive which
normally takes 20 minutes. But even then it was a
very difficult journey. I have never seen scenes like
it. Seeing those crowds increased the sense of
occasion for us. There was no way we were going to be
beaten". Arsenal won 1-0.
Five days later, the FA Cup Final proved another
nerve-wracking affair for the Highbury faithful, with
Arsenal coming from behind to beat Liverpool in
extra-time.
After 10 years in charge, Bertie Mee retired as the
Arsenal manager at the end of the 1975-76 season.
He later joined Watford as general manager, working
with Graham Taylor, and retired in 1986, although he
remained a director of the Hornets until 1991.
At Highbury, Bertie Mee, OBE, the man who graduated
from the treatment table to guiding Arsenal to glory
at the twin towers of Wembley, will occupy a unique
place in the club's affections.
Man who reshaped
Arsenal By Bob Wilson
(Filed: 22/10/2001)
I'LL never forget Bertie Mee. It was Bertie who was
instrumental in my coming to Arsenal after my father
had refused to let me join Manchester United in 1957
when I was with England schoolboys.
It broke my
heart and I went off to Loughborough University to
become a teacher. My first contact with Bertie was as
an amateur playing with British Universities, between
1960 and 1963.
He wanted me
to come to Arsenal after I'd qualified. He set up the
meeting with then manager Billy Wright, and I skipped
off University and drove down in a borrowed car.
Bertie was
Arsenal's physiotherapist then, but, when Wright
left, Bertie took over the job and went on to become
a little general, an astute man-manager with a
clipped English accent, and an absolute
disciplinarian. His own knowledge of football was
very limited. He had had a brief experience as a
winger with Derby and Mansfield, but it had given him
little in the way of technical knowledge.
He was not a
coach, yet we respected Bertie for his intelligence,
but we were a bit surprised when he was made
caretaker-manager in 1966, when Wright, who was a
legend, left the job. Arsenal had not won anything
for almost 16 years, and we thought it was going to
be temporary. What Bertie did was surround himself
with a great team.
He was a great
organiser, a very good psychologist and an incredible
disciplinarian and man-manager. He was an absolute
stickler for military precision. Fines were
mandatory. He'd never let anyone step out of line
without being punished, even to the extent that we'd
be on the beach in Cyprus on an end of season tour
and if you did not have sun protection and you were
burnt, you would get a £50 fine.
Motivator, I'm
not so sure about - he left that up to Don Howe. He
never lost his rag, and refused to talk to the press
until 9am the morning after a match. "It's too
emotional now," Bertie would say.
Physically, he
was a small man at a very big club. For anyone to
think that Bertie would eventually be mentioned in
the same breath as the great Herbert Chapman was
unthinkable when he first took over, but he had
inherited a great group of young players who all
blossomed together to win the Double in 1971. But
overall, we had six seasons under Bertie as manager
when we finished first or second in a major
competition, and people forget that.
The abiding
memory of Bertie was in the Double year after we'd
beaten Stoke in the FA Cup semi-final. We were
closing in on Leeds and set for Liverpool in the FA
Cup final. He stood in the changing-room, holding
some notepaper, his hands shaking.
"These
are our plans. I would not normally say this as a
family man, but I am going to ask you, for your sakes
and for the sake of this football club, to put your
family second for the next month. You have the chance
to put your names in the record books for all
time."
We did, and he
was proved right. I'll never forget his excitement on
the Monday night we beat Tottenham to win the League.
It was the closest I ever saw this dignified
Englishman losing his calm. He ripped his jacket off,
he was up in the directors' box in shirt sleeves - he
was flying. He came a long way and we'll miss him.
