George Graham

This article is about the Scottish football manager and former player. For other people, see George Graham (disambiguation).

George Graham
Graham in April 1970
Personal information
Full name George Graham[1]
Date of birth (1944-11-30) 30 November 1944 (age 79)[1]
Place of birth Bargeddie, Scotland[1]
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
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 12 (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.

Nicknamed "Stroller",[3] he made 455 appearances in England's Football League as a midfielder or forward for Aston Villa, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Portsmouth and Crystal Palace. Approximately half of his appearances were for Arsenal, and he was part of the side that won the Football League Championship and FA Cup double in 1971. Graham also made 17 appearances for California Surf in the NASL in 1978.

He then moved to the coaching staff at Crystal Palace, before joining former Palace manager Terry Venables as a coach at Queens Park Rangers. As a manager, he won numerous honours with Arsenal between 1987 and 1995, including two league titles (in 1989 and 1991), the 1993 FA Cup, two Football League Cups (in 1987 and 1993), as well as the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup. He also managed Millwall, Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur.

He was one of the most successful managers in Arsenal's history, remaining in charge for almost a decade until he was sacked by the club's board after being found guilty by the Football Association of taking money from transfers. Graham was banned despite paying back the money, which he always claimed was an "unsolicited gift".[3]

  1. ^ a b c "George Graham". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  2. ^ George Graham. Romford: A&BC. p. 91.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Guardian2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).