We continue our journey into Herbert Chapman’s life, this time looking into how he changed the dimension a football manager could operate at. This is the 2nd part. For the first part, “The “Gentleman from Kiveton Park”, click here.
There are the stars, the greats, and then there are the legends that have single-handedly changed the game, a club or a team with their innovation, their presence, their bravery, their visionary, forward-thinking…the legends that will forever be an integral part of the history of the beautiful game, not just revered at their individual clubs. Those are the special ones, the ones that come rarely but leave indelible imprints when they leave. Herbert Chapman was one of the very elite.
“Herbert Chapman stands out today as quite simply the greatest visionary the English game has ever seen. His innovative ideas and forward-thinking nature propelled the game into the modern era and the unprecedented success he brought to Arsenal Football Club will never be forgotten.”
– Arsene Wenger
Herbert Chapman: An influence beyond just the pitch
From one game-changing visionary to another, there are many debates about whether Herbert Chapman is simply the greatest manager Arsenal Football Club has ever seen, or whether that honour should be bestowed upon the professor from Alsace who took over at the helm decades after the former, and the sum total of whose reign is yet to be decided, on account of it being ongoing. Whatever the argument in favour of Wenger, it cannot be stressed enough how none of it would have been possible if not for Herbert Chapman.