JOHN LYDON
ARSENALUPFROnT
OFF In Spain, Colmenar Viejo’s assistant was
sent off after racing onto the field to intercept
a late counter-attack, with the scoreline 1-I couldn’t afford. It would be two hours
of people going, “All right John?” and
having a chat. Everyone knew someone
that you knew and I loved that – it was
a family affair.How has watching football changed
for you since you were a kid?
It’s hard to deal with them [players] in
Lamborghinis. I preferred it when they
were downing 10 pints of lager instead
of buying fancy cars. It’s not a money
thing – God bless them, earn as much
as you can – but lay off the Flash Harry
stuff because it’s ugly going in and out
of the ground like that. It’s showing off
and crooks will soon have it off them!Which was the first match that you
ever saw live?
It was a cup game against Birmingham
City. My dad’s attitude was, ‘This is our
local team and this is the team you’re
going to support’. It came with a sense
of value. You’d get to meet the players
in the area where we lived – they were
just like locals to us – and that was the
environment I grew up in. My head is
still in that place watching them today.
It was in the Arsenal pubs where you
learned manners – in culture you need
rules, and when you disobey them you
kill the culture. I’d be squeezing out
electric soup [cheap home-made
booze] from bar towels when
slops were fashionable.
Who was your childhood hero
and did you ever meet them?
Charlie George [right] was a local
lad raised down the road from
me. I met him a couple of years
ago in the middle of London. He
was having a beer and shouted
over, “Johnny!” My knees went
weak – these were serious men
and they supported the values
you had in your neighbourhood.
He was very open-hearted with
me and had no pretensions;
that still sticks in my mind. It’s
important that people aren’t
pretentious – sometimes they
Who from your club’s past would you
bring back for the current side?
Tony Adams and Kieran Tierney [below]
would be an interesting concept.
I was really upset about his
[Tierney’s] recent injury.Who has or had the hardest
shot you’ve ever seen?
Pat Jennings – he scored from
the goalmouth, pow! When he
came to Arsenal from Spurs, our
attitude was, ‘If they don’t want
him, we’re perfectly happy’. Don’t
be foolish – if they want to play for
us then let them play. Jennings was
a great bloke.Which player do you like that never
played for your club?
The best player I ever saw was George
Best; it was a knife-edge with the fella.
What I liked about George was that he
wasn’t an industrious machine. He was
capable of inspiring flashes of genius –
he’d wait on the defence slipping into
a lull and then put the rock in. I loved
the way you didn’t know if he’d crash
and turn into rubbish. Paul Scholes was
another player who was dependable at
exactly the right times and capable of
creating historic moments with some
of the moves he made. I like talking to
fans of other teams, because it opens
up your mind rather than being biased
and belligerent. It doesn’t change the
fact that I’m still Arsenal.Where’s the best place you’ve ever
watched a game?
I had a massive target painted on me –
I never dressed or behaved like one of
the Joe Regulars and there were some
grim moments, so it would always be
the Clock End at Highbury. I want to be
among the crowd, not in spoiled boxes.
I felt comfortable with that.What’s the strangest thing you’ve
ever seen or heard at a game?
One of the oddest places was Chelsea –
it was a greyhound track and you could
walk around the whole ground. It led
to confrontations and the police were
very, very nasty with their spectacular
use of hobnail boots.What’s the best food you’ve
ever had at a game?
A hot Bovril, that could also
be a choice weapon – those
things are scalding hot! You
wouldn’t want one of them
thrown at ya...Which player would you
pick as your room-mate?
I’m not sharing my room
with another farting fella,
there’s no way! Get out of
it – that’s a punishment.Sex Pistols legend and
Public Image Limited
founder Johnny Rotten
is a lifelong Gooner and
fires a real cannon, but
Bovril is even deadlier...
20 July 2022 FourFourTwo
go with this imagery when the image
matters way more than the content.What do you like most about going
to a match?
I live on a different continent now [in
California] but I still pay for two season
tickets which the family use.Did you have a matchday routine?
I’d get inside the ground early, by 1pm,
and analyse the programme like it was
the Bible, then eye up the scarves that