Cambridge United

Dinosaurs? We were pioneers! The FLP talks to Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson can’t help but laugh when he sees Arsenal or Tottenham launching long throws and blasting the ball at the corner flag from kick-off.

by
The LeaguePaper Team
16 November 2025

ambridge United’s Steve Claridge, right, and Portsmouth’s Andy Awford

By Chris Dunlavy

Gary Johnson can’t help but laugh when he sees Arsenal or Tottenham launching long throws and blasting the ball at the corner flag from kick-off.
“When me and John Beck did that at Cambridge 35 years ago, people called us dinosaurs,” chuckles the 70-year-old. “Now it’s all the rage. Turns out we were pioneers!”
Beck’s Cambridge were infamous for their long-ball tactics, with defenders ordered to aim for advertising hoardings at the far end of the pitch and corners watered so heavily that the resulting mudbath prevented their mortars rolling out of play.
It was a style that...

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