The Tuesday Club was the name of social gatherings held by players of English
association football club
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 ...
in the 1990s. It was viewed as a club bonding experience by the players and manager,
George Graham.
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,
Perry Groves
Perry Groves (born 19 April 1965) is an English former association football, footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal F.C., Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger, and occasionally as a Stri ...
and
Paul Merson. It became known as the Tuesday Club as the events occurred on Tuesday nights as Arsenal had a day off from training on Wednesdays.
Merson wrote that Graham was aware of the sessions but ignored them as the participants always arrived for training on Thursdays.
Regular participants of The Tuesday Club also indulged in eating contests during trips to away games.
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.
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.
This led to Parlour being fined
HK$2,000 by Eastern
Magistrates Court and £5,000 by Arsenal.
In 1996, Adams and Parlour deliberately set off a fire extinguisher in a restaurant.
The Tuesday Club was unofficially ended by the appointment of
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...
as Arsenal manager as he portrayed alcohol negatively in order to change the culture at Arsenal.
Podcast
In 2010 the "It's Up For Grabs Now" online
podcast was renamed after The Tuesday Club.
It is hosted by comedian
Alan Davies alongside Keith Dover, Tayo Popoola,
Ian Stone and
Damian Harris
Damian David Harris (born 2 August 1958) is a British film director and screenwriter. He is the eldest son of the actor Richard Harris and socialite Elizabeth Rees-Williams.
Career
In 1968, Harris debuted on screen playing Miles in the film ' ...
. The podcast received notoriety in newspapers after Davies criticised
Liverpool for refusing to play on the date of the anniversary of the
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuesday Club, The
Arsenal F.C.
Drinking culture
Defunct clubs and societies of the United Kingdom