BOOED UNTIL THE FINAL WHISTLE

BY JOHN W YOUNG

Many, many years ago, I was at Highbury watching Arsenal against Blackpool in a game in which Stan Matthews was playing.

Seemingly pissed off by the magic of the ‘Wizard of the Dribble,’ a certain member of the Arsenal team, by the name of Alex Forbes, took matters into his own hands.

As Stan was weaving his way down the right wing, Forbes came flying across with a challenge which sent the Blackpool man first into touch and then into the gully surrounding the pitch.

Blimey, I’d never heard anything like it. The whole of Highbury began booing Forbes and kept it going each and every time he touched the ball or went into a tackle.

You’ve got to remember in those days, that while a tackle was a tackle, Stanley Matthews was probably the most revered footballer of his generation. Treating him in that manner just wasn’t acceptable, so Alex was given the treatment by the crowd.

It’s worth noting at this moment that Forbes was a ginger haired Scot who also played ice hockey for the Dundee Tigers! So he was certainly something of a hard man.

He was booed until the final whistle, although I’ve no idea about the score. It was a long time ago after all…