This 10" x 8" (203mm x 254mm) Print of Arsenal FC Football Club Legend Charlie Buchan makes a great collectors item for any Gunners Football Supporter.
Charlie Buchan first played as an amateur for local club Woolwich Arsenal, joining the club in December 1909. However, having impressed in reserve games, he fell out with manager George Morell over his expenses, and declined to sign to a professional contract.
Charlie Buchan was re-signed by Arsenal Sunderland manager Bob Kyle initially demanded a £4,000 fee, but Arsenal manager Hertbert Chapman bargained him down to £2,000 plus £100 per goal scored by Buchan during his first season; he promptly scored twenty-one, thus forcing Arsenal to pay £100 more than Kyle's original demand. Buchan made his debut in a Derby game against Spurs on 29 August 1925.
Just as important as his goals was his contribution to Arsenal's tactics; it was Buchan who came up, along with Chapman, of rejigging Arsenal's formation to the "WM", to fully exploit the relaxation of the offside law.. Buchan's idea was to move the centre half from a roaming position in midfield to a "stopper" position in defence, with one forward brought back into midfield. This meant the offside trap was no longer the responsibility of the two full-backs, but the single central defender, while the full backs were pushed wider to cover the wings. Eventually the change in tactic would bring Arsenal great success in the 1930s.
Buchan was a regular at Arsenal, despite his age, for three seasons. He captained Arsenal to their first-ever Cup final in 1927, but again was on the losing side, as Cardiff City beat the Gunners 1–0, thanks to a freak mistake by Arsenal 'keeper Dan Lewis. Buchan finally retired at the end of 1927-28, having scored 16 league goals that season despite being 36 years of age. In all he scored 56 goals in 120 matches for Arsenal; his count of 257 goals in the League, which would have been more had the First World War not intervened, makes him the football league'ssixth-top goalscorer of all time.
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