IN THE PANTHEON of great Premier League players, Dennis Bergkamp’s name will always remain very close to the top.
And two decades ago to the day, he stepped out and made his competitive top-flight debut in English football.
The Dutch attacker was Arsenal’s record signing, brought to the club by Bruce Rioch for a fee of £7.5 million. But it wasn’t all plain sailing, despite what the rose-tinted glasses would have you believe.
On the opening day of the season, the London side were faced by new-boys Middlesbrough, managed by Bryan Robson, who had impressed in the First Division. And they proved a tricky opponent.
Though Bergkamp and David Platt (also making his first appearance for the hosts) were the big draws, there was another player experiencing a club debut – Nicky Barmby.
And the club’s record signing stunned Highbury by opening the scoring on the half-hour mark – a terrific move saw Jan-Aage Fjortoft deftly flick into his path before the diminutive attacker neatly pushed it inside David Seaman’s near post.
But Rioch’s charges hit back almost immediately.
Ray Parlour’s right-wing cross was met firmly by the head of Ian Wright and the game would finish 1-1.
Bergkamp didn’t enjoy his first month in English football. He failed to score in Arsenal’s first seven league games.
But finally, there was a brace in a 4-2 win over Southampton on 23rd September and he’d finish the season with nine more, helping the club finish 5th and qualify for the Uefa Cup.
It was redemption for the striker. After his slow start, Bergkamp was heavily-criticised by the press before finding his feet and settling in.
Maybe we haven’t changed that much in twenty years.
Originally published a t 4.30pm
Referees I find have a bias against the weaker counties in hurling. The constant slapping of Galway players by Kilkenny in the League semi-finals went unpunished whereas counties like Carlow, Antrim, Laois etc… are carded for less on a regular basis.
As a football referee, we can’t really ref with the head if you want to move up the levels. Every single foul has a certain punishment and if refs don’t enforce the rules fully then they can’t go up the levels.
There’s a lot more common sense reffing at the lower levels where no one’s expecting you to tick every small foul and the game goes a lot more smoothly..
Ref mite or mite not have been correct on o Dwyer last year but he has a fairly poor record overall so seems those fellas jump out in front of him quite a lot…
Do agree on comment that there would appear to be different criteria at times for certain teams….
Dubs would have had cork and put it up to clare in the final. Have a good feeling about this year. Dubs for the double!!
First card was a bit harsh last year but I think he got away with another one or two couple before the second yellow. I thought the second one was………he knew it too. Anyone that throws their hands up instantly like that generally knows they are after doing something wrong. Would actually be a lot better player if he could control his aggression a bit on the field.