BOB McNAB might be more than 5,000 miles away, but when his two former clubs clash tomorrow lunchtime, he’ll be up for the cup – quite literally!
Now a successful property developer in Los Angeles, the Huddersfield-born 67-year-old who made 365 appearances for Arsenal after playing 76 times for Town still follows football closely and will take in the fourth-round tie which starts at 4.00am LA time.
“There’s so much soccer on television over here, you needn’t leave the house,” quipped the former defender who won the double with the Gunners in 1971 and collected four England caps, all after qualifying as a joiner in his home town before going into football full-time.
“Obviously Arsenal are on a lot more, but I did see clips of Town’s FA Cup game at Cambridge on ESPN, and I’ll be interested to see tomorrow’s match.”
McNab, also a Fairs Cup winner with Arsenal in 1970, saw the Gunners first-hand during a trip to England last month.
But the weather prevented him watching Town, who sold him to Arsenal for £55,000, then a record fee for a full-back, in October 1966.
“I went to the game against Fulham, when Arsenal won 2-1, and planned to go to Brentford to see Town, but it was postponed because of a frozen pitch,” explained the man who made his debut against Leeds in October 1963.
While he plied his trade at Leeds Road and Highbury and is a keen student of football history, McNab is a big fan of both the Galpharm Stadium and the Emirates.
And he reckons the quality of the surface at Arsenal’s sparkling home will make it even harder for Town to pull off an upset.
“In my time, the one thing which proved a leveller in cup-ties between sides in different divisions was the pitch,” he added.
“It was pretty clear that when you went to certain grounds, they’d tried to make the surface as muddy and bobbly as possible and we played on some diabolical pitches.
“But the Emirates pitch is pretty near perfect, and with the way Arsenal play fast, incisive football, that could hurt Town, although I know they like to play that way as well.”
A guest at the last game at Highbury in 2006, McNab was fully behind the move, just as he backed Town’s decision to leave Leeds Road in 1994.
“You have to progress, and while Town needed to downsize, because Leeds Road was a rambling old stadium, Arsenal were hampered at Highbury,” he said.
“There was no room to expand, and to maintain parity with the other big clubs, it was crucial to be playing at a stadium capable of holding 60,000.
“That’s been achieved at a site pretty close to the old ground, and when you travel to Emirates, it still feels the same as when you went to Highbury.
“It’s a magnificent ground into the bargain, but then the Galpharm’s not bad either, and I hope it will one day see top-level football.
“As a child, I used to look down at Leeds Road from our house in Rawthorpe and the current stadium is an amazing sight.
“It deserves to be hosting football of a higher standard, and from what I hear, Dean Hoyle is doing a good job as chairman.
“We all know Town should be in the Championship, like they were when I was playing for the club, and making a push for top-flight football.
“Arsenal, of course, are at a different level, but it wasn’t that way when I moved there, because they hadn’t had success in a while.
“Bertie Mee was the sixties version of Arsene Wenger, building a great side with the help of Don Howe, and I’m proud to have played for two clubs with such illustrious histories.
“I enjoyed some great times at Arsenal, but I’ll always be grateful to Town, because they gave me my chance in the game.”
Having caught the eye playing for Moldgreen CYC and Huddersfield YMCA, McNab was turned down by Blackpool before being signed by Town.
“I was a part-time player to start with, because I was working for Wimpenny’s in Huddersfield and doing my City and Guilds in joinery,” he explained.
“It was hard but enjoyable, and the combination of working in the real world and getting guidance from some really good people at Town, like Vic Metcalfe and Ian Greaves, who were coaches, and Ray Wilson and Peter Dinsdale, who were among my teammates, was great.”
While his footballing days may be finished, McNab, who established a teak-tough reputation as a player, still gets stuck into the joinery over in the States, where he settled after a spell in the old North American Soccer League.
“I’m not the sort who can sit around watching someone else do a job when I can get on with it myself, that’s if I can fit it in around watching football!” he said.
l Former Town striker Danny Cadamarteri has left Dundee United “by mutual consent” after 18 months. The 31-year-old netted four goals in his first seven games after his move from the Galpharm, but failed to add to that tally.
l Bristol City will be without ex-Town frontman Jon Stead for two months after he had ankle surgery.
l Former Town skipper Jon Worthington has signed a short-term deal with Bradford after leaving Oldham. He had originally been with the Bantams on loan.
