0 Have your say CONSIDERING only Herbert Chapman has perhaps had more influence on English football as Arsenal manager than Arsene Wenger there is a pleasing symmetry to tomorrow’s ‘au revoir’ to the Premier League coming in Huddersfield. Leeds Road, where Chapman pioneered the role of manager in an era when directors were all powerful and footballing decisions invariably made by committee, may be long gone. But the great man’s legacy is still keenly felt, be it the three stars that adorn Huddersfield’s team shirts in a nod to the trio of titles won during the Twenties or the bust of Chapman, a gift from Arsenal to mark Town’s centenary in 2008, that can be seen in the entrance to the John Smith’s Stadium. Arsenal, of course, have even more reasons to be grateful to Chapman who, after leaving the West Riding in 1925, transformed the North London club beyond recognition. As, of course, Wenger did a little over 70 years later after first walking through the marble halls of Highbury as a relative unknown in this country. ‘Arsene Who?’ may have been the back-page headline that greeted the new Gunners manager during the autumn of 1996, but surely no one can be in doubt any more as to the impact the Frenchman made on his adopted country. Diet, preparation, sports science, tapping into overseas markets, even how football was played in this country – all these and more changed forever thanks to the vision of one man who, like… [Read full story]
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