Tuesday Club

The Tuesday Club was the name of social gatherings held by players of English association football club Arsenal in the 1990s. It was viewed as a club bonding experience by the players and manager, George Graham.[1]

History

The Tuesday Club involved regular heavy drinking sessions by Arsenal players in the 1990s. These sessions were led by Arsenal captain Tony Adams and usually involved other Arsenal players such as Lee Dixon,[2] Perry Groves and Paul Merson.[3] It became known as the Tuesday Club as the events occurred on Tuesday nights as Arsenal had a day off from training on Wednesdays.[4] Merson wrote that Graham was aware of the sessions but ignored them as the participants always arrived for training on Thursdays.[5] Regular participants of The Tuesday Club also indulged in eating contests during trips to away games.[6]

Antics

The Tuesday Club also became known for the antics of some of the participants. In 1990, Merson, Nigel Winterburn and two other Arsenal players were sent home from an Arsenal tour to Singapore due to being involved in a drinking session.[7] In 1995, Ray Parlour was arrested for assault for throwing prawn crackers at a taxi before hitting the driver during an Arsenal tour to Hong Kong.[8] This led to Parlour being fined HK$2,000 by Eastern Magistrates Court and £5,000 by Arsenal.[8] In 1996, Adams and Parlour deliberately set off a fire extinguisher in a restaurant.[4]

The Tuesday Club was unofficially ended by the appointment of Arsène Wenger as Arsenal manager as he portrayed alcohol negatively in order to change the culture at Arsenal[9] and was then officially ended after Adams banned alcohol consumption in the players lounge at Highbury after recovering from alcoholism.[1]

Podcast

In 2010 the "It's Up For Grabs Now" online podcast was renamed after The Tuesday Club.[10] It is hosted by comedian Alan Davies alongside Keith Dover, Tayo Popoola, Ian Stone and Damian Harris. The podcast received notoriety in newspapers after Davies criticised Liverpool for refusing to play on the date of the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Paul Jiggins. "Ray Parlour goes back to Highbury". London: The Sun. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  2. ↑ Nicky Campbell (2007-02-08). "How football's intimate details become drowned in drink". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  3. ↑ Football (2006-12-29). "How life in fast lane paid off for Arsenal icon". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  4. 1 2 Josh Widdicombe (2010-04-23). "Ray Parlour | Small Talk". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  5. ↑ Merson, Paul (2011). "Lesson 3: Do Not Cross Gorgeous George". How Not to Be a Professional Footballer. HarperCollins UK. ISBN 0007424957.
  6. ↑ "Seven deadly sins of football: Gluttony - part 1". London: Guardian. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  7. ↑ Palmer, Myles (2011). The Professor: Arsène Wenger. Random House. p. 27. ISBN 0753546612.
  8. 1 2 Palmer, Myles (2011). The Professor: Arsène Wenger. Random House. p. 29. ISBN 0753546612.
  9. ↑ Purnell, Gareth (2011-04-02). "Lee Dixon: It might sound hypocritical after my days in the Tuesday Club but players should now be teetotal". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  10. ↑ "Ian Stone - Stand Up Comedian". Comedycaster.com. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  11. ↑ "Arsenal fan Alan Davies under fire after criticising Liverpool's refusal to play on Hillsborough anniversary". London: Telegraph. 2012-04-09. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
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