The Tuesday Club at Arsenal is infamous. It’s a club that goes down in Gunners folklore and was part of a culture in football that has been long forgotten. Many clubs up and down the country had this kind of drinking culture, and while many fans and players look back fondly on it, it’s also caused plenty of hardships on players too.
The likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson struggled heavily with addiction, going through alcohol rehab to get their lives back on track, while others saw it as a way to relax and bond together as a group.
But what have former Gunners said about it?
Tony Adams
Tony Adams was a major part of the Tuesday Club, and he has spoken about how it did help with team bonding, but for many the alcohol consumption went too far.
He spoke to talkSPORT, “All my mentors took me down the pub or took me to the bookies, that’s what we did and I didn’t need much dragging, let’s just say that.
“It was like a light switch turned on for me. It was like, ‘this is my world, this is unbelievable this stuff’. The way it surprised all my thoughts and feelings, it was like ‘hallelujah!’
“My life off the pitch was a complete mess but I took that drink and I was king for a day, it was like ‘wow, fantastic!’”
Lee Dixon
Lee Dixon has spoken out about how players should be teetotal in today’s game, but has previously reminisced fondly about the Tuesday Club, but also that it could get out of hand.
Writing in the Independent, he said, “I used to join the Tuesday Club once a month, but others like Tony would be there every week. It was an important part of the team, where the strong bonds were formed that took us to a couple of league titles.
“And if you didn’t join in, then you would be ostracised. I remember Martin Keown was an example of that. He told me that in his first spell at the club it was expected of him to have a drink with the lads from time to time. He is very strong-minded and didn’t join in with the drinking sessions. He might have a pint but he wasn’t part of the group and as a result he was cut off a little. At the time, that must have been very difficult for him. I admired him for having that strength of character.”
Ray Parlour
Ray Parlour to this day is often seen out and about enjoying a beer, and he wrote extensively about the culture at Arsenal during his early years there. In his autobiography, The Romford Pele, Parlour said:
“Tuesday training was a real physical day but everybody always used to dress up to go in on a Tuesday.
“George Graham would say, ‘What’s going on here?’ It was obvious we were all going out after because our clobber would give the game away.
“Usually we’d be in our tracksuits Monday, Thursday and Friday. But on Tuesday we had all our gear on as if we were going for a night out.
“The drinking was relentless. Saturday night after a game, then Sunday afternoon was the best drink of the week, usually in the pub down our way.
“We were probably drinking too much but the enjoyment of it, and just being around Tony at that time, was far too much fun to turn down.
“If Tony said, ‘I’m going out,’ I was like a little puppy jumping along after him.”
It’s perhaps no real shame that such a thing doesn’t happen anymore. It probably wouldn’t be possible given social media and smartphones, anyway. But the game has changed massively too. It’s fitter and faster, with Arsene Wenger being one of the catalysts for changing the Premier League in such a way.
The likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson have come out the other side of it to tell the tale, but it caused immeasurable damage to them. Even if they were still top class players…