Feature

The Volley

Anatomy of the Volley

George Graham was capable of scoring a wide variety of goals. He netted 77 of them throughout his six-year Gunners playing career, though two volleyed efforts particularly stick in the memory.

In 1969 at Selhurst Park Graham smashed home a right-footed volley from just inside the area as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 5-1 in Division One. It certainly qualifies as a classic goal, in fact it was used in the opening credits of the popular and long-running ITV sports programme World Of Sport.

The following year George repeated the trick, this time with his left boot, in a 2-0 win home win over Liverpool during the 1970/71 ‘double’ season. He finished off another one- two on the edge of the box by rifling the ball into the roof of the North Bank goal. To help you picture the move, Lukas Podolski scored a near-identical goal against Montpellier in the Champions League at Emirates in November 2012.

Both Graham’s strikes were perfect examples of one of the most eye-catching goals in football, and both bring back fond memories for the man himself. “Yes, I remember them both. I think they were shown on TV recently too,” George recalls. “I think the Crystal Palace goal was better, to be honest.

"I played a one-two with someone on the edge of the area – I can’t remember who now – and then finished it off. I think that was my favourite of the two, although the goal against Liverpool was more meaningful"

“I played a one-two with someone on the edge of the area – I can’t remember who now – and then finished it off. I think that was my favourite of the two, although the goal against Liverpool was more meaningful. That was a much, much bigger game. We won the game 2-0 and Liverpool were in their pomp at the time, too.

“So that was more important, but from a technique point of view I think the Crystal Palace goal was better.”

A technically gifted player, George adds that the volley was a favoured technique of his, and he scored other similarly spectacular goals in his time.

“I remember one against West Bromwich Albion as well, going even further back, and that was like a bicycle kick. It was a side-on volley – I threw myself up in the air, didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but it ended up going in the net. It was a bit special.”

George reveals that the team spent many hours practising the art of volleying during training, under the watchful eye of manager Bertie Mee and coach Don Howe.

“We always practiced volleys and finishing in general – it was part of the training routine,” he reveals. “Finishing is always well rehearsed throughout the week at any club because the players love to do it. That’s the fun side of football – crossing, heading, volleying, side-footing. There is usually a bit of competition between the players, and scoring goals gets competitive. When you connect properly with a volley, even in training, it’s a fantastic feeling.”

The Scotsman, who later went on to manage the Gunners between 1986 and 1995 – lifting two league titles, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and two domestic cups – says that the secret of a good volley is technique.

“Yes, it’s down to that basically: being comfortable, getting your body in the right position and at the right time, because if you get it wrong you can make a right fool of yourself,” he says. “Unless you keep working at it in training, you can get it wrong.

“I was always very comfortable on the ball as a player – I just couldn’t move around the pitch very well!

“The majority of my goals were scored in the air, that was one always one of my strengths, and I scored a few headers too which can be a similar technique.”

So what would George say is his favourite type of goal? “That’s a difficult question, because you see these goal of the month competitions and there are so many different types of unbelievable goals.

Applying the finish to the Goal of the Season

Applying the finish to the Goal of the Season

 

“Probably the best goal I’ve ever seen was Dennis Bergkamp’s up at Newcastle, when he flicked it past his defender. It’s not just the technique with a goal like that, it was his imagination. It starts in his head, to even think about doing it, then he has the ability to carry it out. That is world class.

“So I liked that goal but I also like combination and team goals, like Jack Wilshere’s against Norwich. There were four or five one-touch passes – it was beautiful to watch.

“I love headed goals too – why have they never done a video of headed goals? There are so many different types of headed goals.”

As a manager, George worked with a variety of prolific forwards at Arsenal – the likes of Paul Merson, Kevin Campbell, Alan Smith and Ian Wright – though he admits there was nothing he could teach ‘Wrighty’ when it came to finishing.

“Ian Wright was a natural finisher. I never taught him anything – he was just gifted. Some players are blessed with a certain technique and some of the goals he scored took my breath away. I never taught him that, it was just him. He was not afraid to fail – that was important. If it didn’t come off, it didn’t bother him. He would always keep going and try again. Some of the goals he scored were just breathtaking.”