1966–67 Arsenal F.C. season

Arsenal
1966–67 season
Chairman	Denis Hill-Wood
Manager	Bertie Mee
First Division	7th
FA Cup	Fifth Round
League Cup	Third Round
Top goalscorer	League: ; George Graham (11); All: ; George Graham (12)
Highest home attendance	63,563 vs Manchester United (3 March 1967)
Lowest home attendance	20,482 vs Sunderland A.F.C. (26 December 1966)
	← 1965–66 1967–68 →

During the 1966–67 English football season, Arsenal Football Club competed in the Football League First Division. Arsenal finished in seventh place in the league and failed to find success in the FA Cup. It was the team's first season participating in the League Cup and they went out in the third round to West Ham.

Prior to the season, Arsenal physiotherapist Bertie Mee was appointed manager. In the transfer business, he brought both George Graham and Bob McNab into the side. He also saw Peter Simpson become a first team regular.

Graham was the top scorer.^[1] Don Howe served as club captain but suffered from a broken leg early in the season, featuring in just one game under Mee.^[2]

Season summary

Prior to the 1966-67 season, Bertie Mee had served as Arsenal's physiotherapist for six years. He was appointed manager for an initial 12 months, with an agreement he could revert to his previous position if it didn't work out. Mee's first act in charge was to transfer the sometimes erratic George Eastham to Stoke City.^[3]^[2]

Although Tommy Baldwin scored four goals early in the season in the League Cup, Mee soon swapped him, plus £75,000, for George Graham from Chelsea.^[4] Mee then brought in Bob McNab for £50,000 from Huddersfield Town, a then-record for a full back. He went on to be essential in the team for years to come.^[5] Mee also purchased Colin Addison from Nottingham Forest, though Addison failed to make an impact.^[2]^[6] Other players came through the club's own system, such as Peter Simpson who became a first team regular.^[7]

Mee's first season in charge began with a 3-1 win over Sunderland before beating West Ham, a team with three World Cup players (Bobby Moore, Martin Peters, and Geoff Hurst), 2-1 at home. Arsenal didn't lose until their fifth match, a 3-1 defeat away to Spurs. Arsenal were inconsistent, at one point dropping to sixteenth place. However, they finished the season out with an unbeaten run of 12 games, eventually finishing seventh.^[2]

Arsenal entered the League Cup for the first time as it now featured a Wembley final and automatic entry into the Fairs Cup.^[8] However, Arsenal began by tying Third Division Gillingham in their first game. After winning the replay 5-0, Arsenal were knocked out by losing 3-1 at home to West Ham.^[2] In the FA Cup, Arsenal beat Bristol Rovers and Bolton before being knocked out by Birmingham City.

Final league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
5	Liverpool	42	19	13	10	64	47	1.362	51	Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
6	Everton	42	19	10	13	65	46	1.413	48
7	Arsenal	42	16	14	12	58	47	1.234	46
8	Leicester City	42	18	8	16	78	71	1.099	44
9	Chelsea	42	15	14	13	67	62	1.081	44

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

Results

Arsenal's score comes first^[9]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
20 August 1966	Sunderland	A	3–1
23 August 1966	West Ham United	H	2–1
27 August 1966	Aston Villa	H	1–0
29 August 1966	West Ham United	A	2–2
3 September 1966	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–3
6 September 1966	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–1
10 September 1966	Manchester City	A	1–1
17 September 1966	Blackpool	H	1–1
24 September 1966	Chelsea	A	1–3
1 October 1966	Leicester City	H	2–4
8 October 1966	Newcastle United	H	2–0
15 October 1966	Leeds United	A	1–3
22 October 1966	West Bromwich Albion	H	2–3
29 October 1966	Manchester United	A	0–1
5 November 1966	Leeds United	H	0–1
12 November 1966	Everton	A	0–0
19 November 1966	Fulham	H	1–0
26 November 1966	Nottingham Forest	A	1–2
3 December 1966	Burnley	H	0–0
10 December 1966	Sheffield United	A	1–1
17 December 1966	Sunderland	H	2–0
26 December 1966	Southampton	H	4–1
27 December 1966	Southampton	A	1–2
31 December 1966	Aston Villa	A	1–0
7 January 1967	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0–2
14 January 1967	Manchester City	H	1–0
21 January 1967	Blackpool	A	3–0
4 February 1967	Chelsea	H	2–1
11 February 1967	Leicester City	A	1–2
25 February 1967	Newcastle United	A	1–2
3 March 1967	Manchester United	H	1–1
18 March 1967	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–0
25 March 1967	Sheffield United	H	2–0
27 March 1967	Liverpool	A	0–0
28 March 1967	Liverpool	H	1–1
1 April 1967	Stoke City	A	2–2
19 April 1967	Fulham	A	0–0
22 April 1967	Nottingham Forest	H	1–1
25 April 1967	Everton	H	3–1
29 April 1967	Burnley	A	4–1
6 May 1967	Stoke City	H	3–1
13 May 1967	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1–1

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
R3	28 January 1967	Bristol Rovers	A	3–0
R4	18 February 1967	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–0
R4 R	22 February 1967	Bolton Wanderers	H	3–0
R5	11 March 196	Birmingham City	A	0–1

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
R2	13 September 1966	Gillingham	H	1–1
R2 R	21 September 1966	Gillingham	A	1–1 (aet)
R2 2R	28 September 1966	Gillingham	H	5–0
R3	5 October 1966	West Ham United	H	1–3

Squad

[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
-	GK	SCO	Bob Wilson
-	GK	ENG	Jim Furnell
-	DF	ENG	David Court
-	DF	SCO	Ian Ure
-	DF	ENG	Peter Simpson
-	DF	NIR	Terry Neill
-	DF	ENG	Don Howe
-	DF	ENG	Peter Storey
-	DF	ENG	Bob McNab
-	MF	SCO	Frank McLintock
-	MF	ENG	Alan Tyrer
-	MF	ENG	George Armstrong
-	MF	ENG	Jon Sammels


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
-	MF	SCO	John Woodward
-	MF	SCO	Jimmy McGill
-	MF	WAL	Tom Walley
-	MF	ENG	Alan Skirton
-	FW	SCO	George Graham
-	FW	ENG	John Radford
-	FW	ENG	Colin Addison
-	FW	ENG	Micky Boot
-	FW	ENG	David Jenkins
-	FW	SCO	Gordon Neilson
-	FW	ENG	Tommy Baldwin
-	FW	SCO	Tommy Coakley

References

^ Arsenal Official Handbook 1967-68. London: Arsenal. 1967. p. 38.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. pp. 128–130. ISBN 0600588262.
^ Lawrence, Gary (18 February 2018). "Highbury Hero George Eastham – the Playmaker with the Midas Touch". Gunnerstown. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^ Attwood, Tony (30 September 2013). "George Graham: the centre forward who became a stroller". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^ Attwood, Tony (20 July 2012). "Bob McNab: happy birthday to one of Mee's key men". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^ "Colin Addison". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^ "Peter Simpson". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^ Inglis, Simon (1988). League football and the men who made it. London: Harper Collins. p. 242. ISBN 978-0002182423.
^ "Arsenal 1970-1971 Results – statto.com". Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2017.

[1] Arsenal Official Handbook 1967-68. London: Arsenal. 1967. p. 38.

[:0-2] Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. pp. 128–130. ISBN 0600588262.

[3] Lawrence, Gary (18 February 2018). "Highbury Hero George Eastham – the Playmaker with the Midas Touch". Gunnerstown. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

[4] Attwood, Tony (30 September 2013). "George Graham: the centre forward who became a stroller". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

[5] Attwood, Tony (20 July 2012). "Bob McNab: happy birthday to one of Mee's key men". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

[6] "Colin Addison". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

[7] "Peter Simpson". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

[8] Inglis, Simon (1988). League football and the men who made it. London: Harper Collins. p. 242. ISBN 978-0002182423.

[9] "Arsenal 1970-1971 Results – statto.com". Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2017.

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