George "Geordie" Armstrong (9 August 1944 – 31 October 2000) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and coach, who was mostly associated with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. A winger, Armstrong made his Arsenal debut in 1962 at the age of 17 and went on to make 621 appearanceswhich was then an all-time club recordbefore he left Highbury in 1977. He spent a season each with Leicester City and Stockport County, and then took up coaching, both domestically and abroad. After a year as Kuwait national team manager, Armstrong returned to Arsenal as reserve-team coach in 1990, a post which he held for the remaining ten years of his life.

Playing career

Armstrong was born in Kipling Avenue,

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. After leaving school he took up an apprenticeship as an electrician, at Hawthorne Leslie and played works football with his older brothers. He had an unsuccessful trial with Grimsby Town, and was on the books of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

as an amateur. The Newcastle United coaching staff fell out with Armstrong following a mix up which resulted in Armstrong missing one game, consequentially as a result of the fall out, the stubborn Newcastle staff would rarely pick him. He signed for

early in the 1961–62 season. Armstrong arrived at Highbury as an inside forward but was soon switched to the wing. He made his senior debut while still only 17, against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

on 24 February 1962 in a match that Arsenal won 1–0. Although he started out as understudy to

Johnny MacLeod John Murdoch MacLeod (born 23 November 1938) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a winger. Career Born in Edinburgh, MacLeod started his career at his local club, Hibernian, and played 85 times for the Edinburgh side between 1957 a ...

and

Alan Skirton Alan Frederick Graham Skirton (23 January 1939 – 12 May 2019) was an English footballer. Playing career Skirton started out as a player with West Twerton Youth Club in his home city of Bath before joining Bristol City as an amateur. However, ...

, by the 1963–64 season he had become a regular in the side, and in 1964–65 he missed only two matches. Select season required. Over time Armstrong became one of Arsenal's most consistent players, who was noted for the quality and accuracy of his crossing and corner kicks, as well as for his tireless running along the wing. He primarily played on the left, but was also effective on the right. Signed by

George Swindin George Hedley Swindin (4 December 1914 – 26 October 2005) was an English football player and manager. Playing as a goalkeeper, Swindin made more than 300 appearances in the Football League with Bradford City and Arsenal, where his 18-year ...

but maturing under Billy Wright's management, he was one of several players from the Wright era such as

Jon Sammels Jonathon Charles Sammels (born 23 July 1945) is an English former footballer. Career Sammels joined Arsenal, in 1961, the club he supported as a boy, from his family home in Grundisburgh near Woodbridge in Suffolk. He was a regular in the rese ...

and

Peter Storey Peter Edwin Storey (born 7 September 1945) is a former England international footballer. Able to play at full-back or more commonly as a defensive midfielder, he picked up a reputation in the Football League as an aggressive player in the 1960 ...

who became an integral part of successor Bertie Mee's Arsenal side. After losing two successive League Cup finals, in 1967–68 and 1968–69, Armstrong was instrumental in the Gunners winning the

1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the 12th Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal over two legs in the final against Anderlecht. It was the first of Arsenal's two European trophies, the other being the European Cup Winn ...

, and was voted Arsenal's Player of the Year for 1970. He played in every match the following season as Arsenal completed the League and FA Cup

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, and according to the club's website, "it was estimated that ehad a hand in more than half of the goals scored in the Double season". These included Ray Kennedy's winning header in the last match of the season, against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

, that won Arsenal the League title. Armstrong remained with the club through the 1970s, as Arsenal failed to win any further trophies after their Double win; he played at least thirty matches in each season he was at the club during that decade. However, after falling out with Mee's successor, Terry Neill, he moved to Leicester City in September 1977 for £15,000. He played only 14 League matches in his single season with the Foxes, and finished his career in England with Stockport County. In 1980-81 he was the player-manager for Mjølner, Norway, playing his last match against Bodø/Glimt on 5 July 1981. Having spent fifteen full seasons at Arsenal, most of them as an ever-present, Armstrong set an all-time club record for appearances621 competitive first-team appearances, which included exactly 500 in the league; his record has since been overtaken only by David O'Leary and Tony Adams. He also scored 68 goals for Arsenal. His profile on the club's website suggests he was "one of the most accomplished players never to have won a full cap" for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, despite being capped at youth level and five times for the under-23 team; this was attributed to England manager

Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager fr ...

's policy of not using wingers.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Armstrong moved into coaching, and worked for clubs including

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and Queens Park Rangers. He managed Enderby Town and Norwegian club FK Mjølner, and managed the Kuwaiti national team between 1988 and 1989. In 1990, before the

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...

, he returned to England, where he rejoined Arsenal as reserve team coach, a post which he retained for the rest of his life, despite the club's many managerial upheavals. During his time coaching at Arsenal Armstrong was responsible for bringing many young players through the ranks, including

Steve Morrow Stephen Joseph Morrow (born 2 July 1970) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer and manager. He is currently The Football Association's head of player selection and talent strategy. As a player he played most of his career at lef ...

, Ray Parlour and

Paul Dickov Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

Death

On 31 October 2000, Armstrong collapsed after a brain haemorrhage while taking a training session. He died in Hemel Hempstead Hospital during the early hours of the following morning. He was survived by his wife, Marjorie, and their two children, Jill and Tom. A pitch at Arsenal's London Colney training ground has been named in his memory. In 2022 it was announced that his medals and awards, given to him throughout his career, would be sold at auction in April, 2022.George Armstrong's Medals and Awards Auction Sale
Retrieved 16 March 2022.

Honours

Club

Arsenal *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

runners-up: 1967–68, 1968–69 *

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...

: 1969–70 *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

: 1970–71 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 1970–71

Individual

Arsenal Player of the Season The Arsenal Player of the Season award is an official award given by Arsenal Football Club to the best performing player from the club over the course of the season. The award is given based on votes by Arsenal fans on the club's website, it wa ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, George 1944 births 2000 deaths People from Hebburn Footballers from Tyne and Wear English footballers England youth international footballers England under-23 international footballers Association football wingers Arsenal F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Worcester City F.C. managers Kuwait national football team managers Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff Fulham F.C. non-playing staff Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff Queens Park Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff FA Cup Final players Expatriate football managers in Kuwait English expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait English expatriate football managers FK Mjølner players Expatriate football managers in Norway English expatriate sportspeople in Norway English expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Norway