Geordie Armstrong with wife Marjorie and children Tom and Jill
Jill Armstrong (@touchofpowder) had little choice but to support Arsenal. Her father is the legendary Arsenal winger George ‘Geordie’ Armstrong, who made over 600 appearances for the club and later became a coach.
Jill set up her Twitter account in 2014 to celebrate and honour the memory of her late father, who tragically died at the London Colney training ground in 2000, with a pitch now named after him.
When did you start supporting Arsenal and why?
My mum went to the games when she and Dad were married and pregnant with me!
So I guess I was a fan before I was born!
What was your first Arsenal match?
Because I went from such a young age, it’s very hard to pinpoint exactly when I first went.
I was taken as a baby all the time and given plenty of toys to keep me quiet.
Growing up, we always had to dress smartly because we were representing The Arsenal.
I used to stand on the seat by the Box Office before the game, watching the mounted police, the stalls and the crowds.
When we used to go in for a game, we used to park inside the ground and coming up to the entrance at the marble halls always felt so special.
It still gives me goosebumps and I was always so proud.
We loved the club, Arsenal are so special, and we grew up at Highbury, which was part of our life.
I remember the odd games but it was watching Dad out there that I remember more than anything else.
I remember Alan Ball being at our house and I remember a West Ham game when Dad scored and Brian Kidd scored a hat trick…Highbury was rocking.
Who was your first Arsenal hero and why?
Dad was so fortunate that he was doing a job that he loved and he was lucky to get paid for it. He always saw it as such a privilege.
I always had immense pride but around watching Dad on the pitch and being mobbed on the streets.
My dad adored the club.
I remember after a game we would sit in the players’ lounge waiting for them to come in and sometimes away players would come in as well and celebrities like Cilla Black.
Dad would always come in last and often they would be stacking chairs.
He lit the room up…he had something about him….warmth, a great storyteller, and football flowed out of him….
People would stop to talk to him….he was really special and I felt a sense of amazing pride….for the man he was. He had amazing ability to make people feel that they were the most important person. He never made himself out to be special.
When he was playing in later years, towards end of his career, you could hear the crowd singing “Geordie Armstrong on the wing”
He was Player of the Year in 1971 (when Arsenal won the Double) but he would say “I was alright, I was nothing special…I could have done better.”
I remember we were at a charity match in the early 1990s. A lot of celebrities from TV they came and sat with us and had a discussion about was what a fantastic player he was.
Who is your favourite ever Arsenal player and why?
Beyond Dad, Dennis Bergkamp, Liam Brady and Thierry Henry were players I loved, but it’s really difficult for me.
I don’t like to say I have a favourite because I know many of them on a personal level
Over the years I watched the Double side, Radford, Storey…such great players…I loved Ian Wright, David Rocastle…
Dennis Bergkamp said to me once that “Your dad was part of the fabric that this club was built on.”
What’s your biggest Arsenal regret/disappointment?
When Dad left Arsenal (in 1977), he left quickly and we moved to Leicester.
There was a breakdown in communications with management and he felt it was time to move on, so it all happened very quickly.
Knowing how much he loved the club, it would have been very hard for Dad.
He had usually played the full 90 minutes at Arsenal and wasn’t injured much but it wasn’t long before he got injured so the whole situation affected us.
What is your favourite Arsenal memory (away from the pitch) and why?
It was always like a family gathering in the Directors’ box.
The team were all friends on and off the pitch and had a special connection and there was always a lot of joking and banter.
I remember 1998 at Sopwell House waiting for the team to come back for celebrations after the FA Cup final.
But really, there was something so special about Arsenal. I have memories of the commissionaires - everyone was treated specially and everyone fitted in.
Arsenal was built on strong values – you need people who understand that.
The fact that Dad died on the training ground and had a pitch named after him is something he would have really loved.
What is your favourite ever Arsenal match?
That West Ham game (1976) when we won 6-1 and Dad scored really sticks in the memory.
It was a phenomenal occasion and when I watched Dad I was immensely proud.