Happy Sol Campbell Day!

Today marks the 11th anniversary of a transfer that shocked football and wrote a new chapter in the rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Very few players cross the North London divide, but this one was simply unimaginable at the time for both sets of fans.

Sol Campbell was Tottenham’s captain and one of the best defenders in Europe in 2001. His contract expired at Tottenham in the summer of 2001 and he was stalling on signing a new deal at Spurs. Campbell was easily the best player at Spurs but all he had to show for his time at the club was a League Cup winners medal from 1999. Tottenham had never finished above 7th in the league whilst Campbell was at the club, but Spurs were confident of keeping their captain at White Hart Lane. He had said in many interviews that he wanted to stay at Spurs and that the two parties were talking about a new deal. They offered him a deal that would make him the highest paid player in the history of the club. The trouble was, Campbell always wanted to play Champions League football and wanted to win bigger trophies than the League Cup. As well as this, England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson had told Campbell he should be playing Champions League football.

Tottenham had tabled their offer, but Campbell was talking to other clubs. Spurs fans were sure that Campbell wouldn’t be joining Arsenal as Campbell had stated in the past that he would never play for Arsenal when interviewed by the club magazine. Campbell had attracted interest from abroad as well as clubs in England. The likes of Barcelona and AC Milan were being linked to Campbell’s signature, as well as Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool in England too. Campbell was keen to stay in London though. He wasn’t a big fan of the idea of moving abroad at the time and he liked life in London. Realistically that left one club for Campbell to join. Arsenal had the money, were in the Champions League for the 2001-02 season and could challenge for trophies. Despite the fact they hadn’t won anything since 1998, the club had finished runners up in the league to Manchester United the previous 3 seasons and finished runners up in the UEFA Cup Final in 2000 as well as the FA Cup Final in 2001, beating Campbell’s Tottenham in the semi-final of the FA Cup that year. Chelsea were a UEFA Cup side at that point and before Roman Abramovich came and rescued them in 2003, the club were struggling financially. The likes of West Ham, Fulham and Charlton would have been step downs from Tottenham and wouldn’t have been able to offer Campbell his wages or Champions League football either, so there really wasn’t any other choice for Sol.

July 3rd 2001 – Sol Campbell commits the ultimate act of betrayal to a Spurs fan. He joins North London rivals Arsenal on a free transfer. Not only has he joined their biggest rivals, but he’s done it for nothing and gone back on his words from earlier in the year. One side of North London is outraged and the red half is delighted. No matter where you went in North London, Sol Campbell was the name on everybody’s lips. My personal story from that day was I came in from school and my Dad had left me a note on the table. It said: “TOM – ARSENAL’S NEW NUMBER 23 – SOL CAMPBELL!!!!”. The big capital letters and exclamation marks said it all, Arsenal fans were just as shocked as Tottenham’s were. Here are the quotes from Campbell on the day of his transfer:

“I’ve made my decision and I just hope people respect it. Obviously I know what happened to (former Arsenal and Spurs boss) George Graham and what he had to deal with. It is something I am prepared to face and hopefully it won’t be a major problem for me.”

“I spent a lot of years at Tottenham and while I was there I played my heart out and tried everything to help move the team in the right direction. But the time finally came to make a decision to move on.”

“Staying in the Premiership was important to me. I was very keen to stay in the Premiership. Sven Goran Eriksson, the England coach, is here and the majority of games he sees are here in England. It was a big decision. I could have earned more money by going abroad but I felt this was the place to be.”

“I’ve signed a four year contract and I believe in that time I can make some great strides in my career”

Campbell rejected Tottenham’s offer that would have made him the highest paid player in their history. Although Arsenal didn’t disclose any information on his wages at the time, it is believed that Campbell’s wage demands made him the highest paid player in the Gunners history at that point. Arsenal needed to show their intentions at the time. Patrick Vieira was unsure about staying at the club at that time because Arsenal themselves needed to prove to people like Vieira that they were serious about competing with Man United for the title and other trophies. The signing of Campbell showed Arsenal were out to get their crown.

It didn’t take Arsenal fans long to love Campbell. The fact it had pissed off the Spurs fans so much was enough to bring joy to Arsenal fans alone. I went to a lot of games in the 2001-02 season and in the summer of 2001, there were 3 shirts I saw a lot of. One of them was David Rocastle’s as a tribute to him following his death earlier in the year, one was Thierry Henry as he was the main man that scored all the goals for the team, and the final one was Campbell. He was a popular figure at the club already and his performances on the pitch made him even more popular, forming a solid partnership with Tony Adams for the season, before Adams retired in 2002. Campbell had played for England with Adams in the past, so it wasn’t anything new to either of them.

Unsurprisingly, Campbell was given a hostile reception when he returned to Tottenham for the first time in November 2001. Everyone in the ground except for the away fans had balloons and all sorts of things with the word ‘Judas’ written on them. He was booed every time he touched the ball, but Campbell got on with it and handled the occasion well. He received handshakes at the end from all his former team-mates as Tottenham scored a late equaliser to deny Campbell and Arsenal a win that day. Arsenal would go on to win the Double that season, with Campbell playing a big role in the club’s success. They lifted the FA Cup in Cardiff following a 2-0 win over Chelsea and completed the Double 4 days later with a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Campbell’s controversial move was paying off already. He’d already won more trophies in a season at Arsenal than he had in his entire career at Spurs, as well as two more prestigious trophies than the one he won at Spurs.

That video shows the reception he received on his first return to White Hart Lane.

Arsenal were pipped to the title at the finishing line by Manchester United in the 2002-03 season, but Campbell added another winners medal to his growing collection as Arsenal beat Southampton 1-0 in the FA Cup Final in May 2003. Campbell was suspended for the Final, but he said in a recent article in The Guardian that he got a winners medal anyway (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/may/04/fa-cup-final-chelsea-liverpool).

The following season saw one of the most dominant teams in the history of English football win the Premier League. Arsenal were unstoppable in the 2003-04 campaign, going unbeaten for the entire season and cruising to the title. Kolo Toure became Campbell’s defensive partner that season and the two played a big part in Arsenal’s success. The sweetest thing about the title win was where it was clinched. Arsenal went to White Hart Lane in late April needing just a point to clinch the title. Arsenal stormed into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from captain Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires. Spurs fought back to claim a 2-2 draw, but it was Arsenal’s day at the Lane. Just like in 1971, Arsenal sealed the title at White Hart Lane. How sweet it was for Arsenal fans across the world and how sweet it must have been for Sol Campbell in particular. He remained calm and professional in interviews after the game, but deep down it meant a lot to him I’m sure. Campbell had won 2 league titles at Arsenal now, the same amount of title’s that Spurs have won in their history (that fact still remains in 2012). It’s also as many times as Arsenal have won it at White Hart Lane in the history. These statistics say everything about Arsenal’s dominance over Spurs and justify Campbell’s move completely.

Campbell was an unused substitute in the FA Cup Final the following season, with Philippe Senderos partnering Kolo Toure at the back for the Final against Manchester United in 2005. Arsenal were fortunate to win the Final that day, having been outplayed in both normal and extra time, the Gunners went on to win the cup on penalties, beating United 5-4 in the shootout. For Campbell, this was his last piece of silverware at Arsenal. It is the last thing the club have won to date too, but Campbell stayed with Arsenal for one more season.

2005/06 marked Arsenal’s final season at Highbury. After 93 years at the historic stadium, the Gunners were moving to their newly built Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2006. Arsenal’s form wasn’t good domestically, struggling in the Premier League and losing to Bolton and Wigan in the FA and League Cups. This left Arsenal with just the Champions League to play for in terms of a trophy. The Gunners were in an unusual position in the league, having been in the top 2 for so long, they were now struggling to qualify for the Champions League for 2006/07. Arsenal faced Wigan on the final day of the season, a team that had beaten them in the semi-final of the League Cup earlier in the campaign. Arsenal needed to better Spurs’ result that day, with Tottenham playing West Ham at Upton Park. Tottenham had been hit with a stomach bug after eating some dodgy lasagne at the team hotel. A lot of their first-team players were out of the game due to illness. Tottenham asked for the game to be postponed until a later date, but the FA told them to play the game as planned. A weakened Spurs team lost 2-1 at Upton Park thanks to a goal from future Gunner Yossi Benayoun with 10 minutes left in the game. Arsenal had been trailing Wigan 2-1 earlier in the game, but fought back to win 4-2. With Spurs’ result coming through on the big screen at Highbury, it was time for Arsenal fans to celebrate. A fitting send off for Highbury and more justification of Campbell’s decision to join Arsenal 5 years earlier.

And so to Paris. Arsenal were the first London club to reach the Final of the Champions League and Barcelona were the only team that could now stop them from winning the trophy that manager Arsene Wenger has always wanted to win. Arsenal were dealt a major blow in the Final when goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off in the first half. Despite this, it was Arsenal that took the lead in the Final. Sol Campbell headed Arsenal in front in the Final. The ten men of Arsenal were incredibly winning against the mighty Barcelona. This was Campbell’s first goal in the competition he joined Arsenal to play in, he couldn’t have picked a better time to score it. Two goals in the last 15 minutes from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti cruelly denied Arsenal, who had been the better team for much of the game, even with 10 men.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdNjKTe2Xe8

– Campbell heads Arsenal into the lead in the Champions League Final. It should have been our day.

Campbell left Arsenal in the summer of 2006, after Arsenal announced the two were parting ways. Campbell had gone AWOL earlier in the season following a poor display at home to West Ham in which he was largely responsible for two of West Ham’s goals in a 3-2 defeat. Sol was taken off at half time at his own request and was having troubles in his personal life according to team-mate Robert Pires. He returned to training 5 days after the match with West Ham, but didn’t play in an Arsenal shirt again until April. Campbell stated that he wanted to go abroad and play football now, but to Arsene Wenger’s surprise, he signed for Portsmouth in August 2006. Campbell went on to lift the FA Cup in 2008 after Portsmouth beat Cardiff 1-0 in the Final. Campbell still receives abuse from Spurs fans every time he plays against them. Some Spurs fans were banned from attending football games in the UK for three years after singing songs that included racist and homophobic abuse that were aimed towards Campbell, whilst he was playing for Portsmouth against Spurs.

In 2008, Campbell was voted as Arsenal’s 15th out of 50 in the Gunners’ Greatest Players poll.

He left Portsmouth in 2009 after his contract expired. What happened next was a shock to everyone. Campbell signed with League Two side Notts County, teaming up with former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson after the club had been taken over by a Middle Eastern consortium. This move shocked both Arsene Wenger and Harry Redknapp, who had managed him at Arsenal and Portsmouth, as well as football fans across the country. Campbell’s stay at Notts County was over before it begun really, making just one apperance for County before his contract was terminated by mutual consent. Whether he didn’t want to be there or something went on behind the scenes, I don’t know. But Campbell was only ever in that for the money and I think after realising the gulf in class between League Two and the top flight, he wanted out.

Sol returned to former club Arsenal in October 2009. He came back to train with the club because he was aiming to stay fit until the January transfer window, when he was allowed to join another club. At the time, I don’t think there was any intent of a return to Arsenal on a permanent basis. In January 2010, Arsenal announced that Campbell would play in a reserves game at West Ham, with the view of signing Campbell back on a permanent basis. A few days later, Arsenal confirmed the signing of Campbell and he made his debut in an FA Cup tie away at Stoke, which the Gunners lost 3-1. Campbell didn’t play badly though and featured as a substitute against Aston Villa a few days later. Sol scored for Arsenal in his 200th appearance for the club away to Porto in the Champions League. It was his first game in the Champions League since the Final that he scored in 4 years earlier. Campbell was a worthwhile signing, with the likes of William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen picking up injuries throughout the season. He also gave them much needed experience for a title challenge that ultimately fell short. In fact, Arsenal were lucky to finish in the top 3 eventually, but much to Campbell’s and Arsenal’s delight, another last day win ensured that Arsenal would finish above Spurs yet again.

Campbell wasn’t offered a new deal at the club in the summer of 2010, with Arsenal signing Laurent Koscielny from Lorient and Sebastian Squillaci from Sevilla to replace the departing Campbell and Gallas. Gallas signed with Tottenham, becoming another one of the few to cross the North London divide. Campbell signed for newly promoted Newcastle after rejecting Scottish giants Celtic that summer. Campbell was far from a regular in the Newcastle side and after 1 season there he was released. The next season, Campbell tried to find a club, but nobody came calling this time around, not even Arsene Wenger and in May 2012, Campbell hung up his boots and retired from the game.

He’s had a lot of controversial moves in his career, with the original transfer to Arsenal definitely topping it. His first departure from Arsenal certainly upset Arsene Wenger at the time, but they clearly remained friends throughout as he re-signed with the club in 2010. Notts County was a bizarre one too, so controversial, yes. Campbell was a fantastic player though. You can’t argue with his move to Arsenal in 2001. He won trophies he never could have at Tottenham. The gap between the two clubs was a lot bigger back then than it is now and wanting to stay in London left Arsenal as his only choice other than wasting his talent at Tottenham. You just have to look at his medals and that answers the question as to whether it was the right decision. No doubt about it, 100% yes. Sol is an Arsenal legend and his return in 2010 made Tottenham fans hate him even more!. So, finally I would like to wish all Arsenal fans a Happy Sol Campbell Day!. Enjoy!