Nicknamed "Stroller",[3] he made 455 appearances in England's Football League as a midfielder or forward for Aston Villa, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Portsmouth and Crystal Palace.

Approximately half of his appearances were for Arsenal, and he was part of the side that won the Football League Championship and FA Cup double in 1971.

He was one of the most successful managers in Arsenal's history, remaining in charge for almost a decade until he was sacked by the club's board after being found guilty by the Football Association of taking money from transfers.

He grew up in poverty and was raised by his mother, Janet (26 April 1908 – 27 March 1977), after his father, Robert Young Graham (born 22 June 1900), died of tuberculosis and heart failure on Christmas Day 1944, when George was not yet a month old.

While growing up, Graham showed considerable promise as a footballer, and Newcastle United, Chelsea and Aston Villa displayed an interest in signing him.

[5] Graham received offers from Aston Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle United aged 15, in 1959, and visited all three clubs to see their facilities.

[3] He chose Aston Villa mainly as he and his family liked manager Joe Mercer, initially playing for their youth side, he signed professionally in 1961, on his 17th birthday.

[4][8] Winning the Double brought the attention of Scotland and Graham was selected for the national side for the first time against Portugal on 13 October 1971.

[9] After retiring from playing in 1978, Graham became the youth team coach[10] at Crystal Palace[4] and then from October 1980 Queens Park Rangers.

[12] A month after arriving at Highbury, Graham was himself linked with the Scotland national team, possibly combining it with the Arsenal manager's job,[13] but that role went to Andy Roxburgh instead.

Graham quickly discarded the likes of Paul Mariner, who already had been released on a free transfer, Tony Woodcock, Stewart Robson and Tommy Caton, and replaced them with new signings and youth team products.

[14] This was proven to be correct as Arsenal finished fourth in Graham's first season in charge, but they went on to win the 1987 League Cup, beating Liverpool 2–1 at Wembley on 5 April.

Graham's side featured tight defensive discipline, embodied by his young captain Tony Adams, who along with Lee Dixon, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn, would form the basis of the club's defence for over a decade.

With only seconds to go, a Smith flick-on found Michael Thomas surging through the Liverpool defence; the young midfielder calmly lifted the ball over Bruce Grobbelaar and into the net, and Arsenal were League Champions.

After finishing fourth in 1989–90, Graham signed goalkeeper David Seaman and Swedish winger Anders Limpar in the close season; both players proved vital as Arsenal won a second title in 1990–91 and reached the FA Cup semi-finals, losing to arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

1991–92 brought more disappointment when the Gunners were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by lowly Wrexham, though Arsenal did reasonably well in the league, finishing fourth.

[4] Graham was eventually banned for a year by the Football Association for his involvement in the scandal, after he admitted he had received an "unsolicited gift" from Hauge.

By the turn of the year, Leeds were unmistakably a George Graham team – risk-averse to the point of parody, yet unarguably solid as a rock.

Packing the defence with as many bodies as possible, with Lucas Radebe becoming a top-class operator and Nigel Martyn offering a strong argument to be England's No.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was signed in the summer of 1997, scoring 16 Premier League goals, and 22 in all competitions, as Leeds finished 5th during Graham's one full season in charge, while the club continued their ascent under his former assistant and successor David O'Leary.

Graham made no secret of his desire to head back to the capital following Leeds' 3–3 draw with Tottenham in North London on 26 September 1998.

Tottenham reached the last four of the 2000–01 FA Cup with a 3–2 victory over West Ham United on 11 March 2001 and Graham was looking forward to pitting his wits against his former club Arsenal in the semi-finals.

Graham's legal representatives issued a statement expressing he was "shocked and upset to have been sacked and could not believe such a flimsy excuse was given".

[22] The following season, with Glenn Roeder under fire at the helm of a West Ham United side heading for Premier League relegation, Graham's name was mentioned as a possible replacement,[23] but Roeder actually lasted until the opening weeks of the 2003–04 season and this time there was little mention of Graham's name in the hunt for a successor, which ended with the appointment of Alan Pardew.

[24] He and O'Leary had both been mentioned as candidates for the job at Sunderland twice during the 2002–03 season following the departure of Peter Reid in October[25] and Howard Wilkinson in March.