Pubs, fish and chips and British Bulldog injuries: Nigel Winterburn on being part of Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang
Former Wimbeldon man Winterburn recalls some of the antics that used to go on during the Crazy Gang era
With knee-high tackles, post-training pints and questionable diets, English football in the 80s and 90s was a different ball game. Perhaps no other club embodied that era more than Wimbledon, whose antics led to them being nicknamed the 'Crazy Gang'.
Nigel Winterburn might be best known for forming part of Arsenal's famously stingy back four under George Graham and Arsene Wenger, but the Englishman first rose to prominence at Wimbeldon, making more than league 150 appearances for the Dons between 1983 and 1987. Looking back on his time in south London Winterburn confirms that it was just as crazy, and often just as unprofessional, as fans might assume.
"It was quite intimidating [joining the club from Oxford United], as some of those guys were big characters: Wally Downes, Paul Fishenden, with John Fashanu, Vinnie Jones and Dennis Wise coming in later," says Winterburn. "It gave you a good grounding, as we had to take our kit home and wash it. You had to buy your own boots, too.
"But Wimbledon was a small club trying to rise up through the leagues. We had loads of fun and scared a lot of teams. On the way back from away games, we used to stop off at the pub and the fish and chip shop. It’s a million miles from what takes place today."
Winterburn also confirms rumours that infamous playground game British Bulldog was a part of training at Wimbledon during his spell at the club.
"Yes, that is true," Winterburn tells FFT with a grin. "You have to get from one side of the field to the other, by any means necessary, while opponents try to stop you. Dave Bassett used to tell us the starting XI on the Friday, but you could guarantee, at least every other week, that someone in the team wouldn’t make it because they’d been crunched in that game!"
Different times indeed. The thought of playing British Bulldog with the likes of Dennis Wise and Vinny Jones sends FFT into cold sweats...
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Arsenal stories
Arsenal transfer news is ramping up this summer, with the Gunners set to loosen their wage structure to attract the best players.
Jurrien Timber could be next to join, Moises Caicedo is heavily linked, Xavi Simons is on the radar, Ivan Fresneda is wanted, though Arsenal could sell £100m worth of players, too.
Meanwhile Folarin Balogun is being valued at £50m.
Ed is a staff writer at FourFourTwo, working across the magazine and website. A German speaker, he’s been working as a football reporter in Berlin since 2015, predominantly covering the Bundesliga and Germany's national team. Favourite FFT features include an exclusive interview with Jude Bellingham following the youngster’s move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020, a history of the Berlin Derby since the fall of the Wall and a celebration of Kevin Keegan’s playing career.
‘Scoring in a World Cup is like winning the title – can you imagine millions of people celebrating something you did? It’s insane and made me very proud’: Brazil legend explains how much 2002 goal meant to him
'He already had the ability but didn’t use it because he was afraid to shoot – I said, "You’re a player who has to decide games – you have to take risks, mate"': Liverpool star was forced to become confident by team-mates