Transfer deadline day was a lot different in the 1980s. The deadline arrived at 5pm on a Thursday in March and it was very low-key compared to what we see today. Sky Sports did not exist and Jim White did not have to deal with sources, shouty men standing in the dark surrounded by bored teenagers, young men acting like fools behind attractive young presenters, or clubs announcing derisory offers to fans.

To find the headlines we had Ceefax, page 302, and a few stories in the papers the next day to summarise the main deals. Deadline day seemed so much more laid back during my childhood. In a strange way, I might have actually preferred the pre-satellite TV and internet transfer days.

So here is a look back at some of the signings and near-misses involving my club Arsenal around transfer deadline day in the 1980s. Some turned out badly, others were great, and a few got away.

Peter Nicholas in March 1981

Liverpool's Ray Kennedy is challenged by Arsenal's Peter Nicholas. Photograph: Bob Thomas/Getty Images

Liam Brady was a football genius. He had a left foot like a wand; his mazy dribbles and pinpoint passes could open up defences for fun; and one of my biggest regrets is that I was too young to have seen him in an Arsenal shirt. Having said that, his sale to Juventus was a heartbreaker for Arsenal fans. The absence of Brady throughout the 1980-81 season left a gaping hole that realistically could not be filled.

One midfielder purchased post-Brady was the Welsh international Peter Nicholas. Bought for £500,000 on the 1981 transfer deadline day (£400,000 plus David Price going to Crystal Palace in exchange), the Welsh international was your typical British midfielder of the time: industrious, hard-tackling, robust, energetic.

Although his arrival coincided with an unbeaten Arsenal run of nine matches until the end of the season, Nicholas' time at Arsenal was hardly a success. The fact that five-sixths of the Brady money was spent on Nicholas hardly helped matters – it was a bit like selling Cesc Fàbregas for £30m and spending £25m on Lee Cattermole (no disrespect to Cattermole; funny how you can say no disrespect and then promptly say what you want) – but, in fairness to Nicholas, this was hardly his doing.

Most reviews of Nicholas were damning. Jon Spurling, writing in his excellent All Guns Blazing account of Arsenal in the 1980s, was certainly not a fan: "Palace, who had been dubbed 'the team of the eighties' were about to be relegated and this should have been warning enough to Terry Neill that we could do without this particular 'talisman'." And the praise just kept on coming: "Immediately we saw that he could dig in and boot the ball a bloody long way but we had these qualities in abundance anyway." Not a ringing endorsement.

Strangely enough, the Arsenal website describes Nicholas as "an instant hit with the Arsenal fans". It would be interesting to hear the opinions of any Arsenal fans old enough to have been lucky or unlucky enough to have seen the man maraud around Highbury. I only recall the tail-end of his career, and the fact that we had an international player in our team excited me a lot. I was only seven though and had a lot to learn.

Garry Thompson in March 1982

Garry Thompson, Steve Walford, Gary Gillespie and Les Sealey leap for the ball during a match between Arsenal and Coventry City at Highbury. Photograph: Central Press/Getty Images

Such was Nicholas' impact, or lack of it, that within a year he was offered in part-exchange in a deadline deal to bring Coventry's Garry Thompson to Arsenal. The bustling England Under-21 centre-forward was an exciting prospect at the time, and Arsenal were certainly in need of some striking options after the bitter departure of Frank Stapleton in the summer of 1981. The Thompson deal broke down though, as Coventry demanded £500,000 plus Peter Nicholas. After experimenting with the delights Hankin and Hawley, Terry Neill's prolonged search eventually led him to the horrors of Lee Chapman. Oh dear.

Nicholas was most put out at being offered as a makeweight, originally hearing about a possible deal when his wife spoke to him in Spain as he prepared to play for Wales: "Being told you are set for a move a couple of hours prior to a big international is not the way to do things in my opinion."

Neill was also frustrated, but for different reasons: "Somewhere along the line, people in the game have to realise that the transfer market is dead." At the time he had a point, as dropping attendances and the previous wasteful spending of clubs meant that the usual deadline day rush seemed a thing of the past.

This didn't help the mood of any Arsenal supporters, however. In the space of a year, Arsenal had lost both their best player abroad and their star striker to Manchester United. I can't imagine that happening in this modern era though, can you? Oh.

Alan Smith in March 1987

Now for a happier foray into the transfer market. During his first season, George Graham had been very quiet in the transfer market even though certain aspects of the team needed addressing (sounds familiar), but he finally dusted off the cheque book on deadline day to bring in a centre-forward he had admired for some time: "He is a team player and an all-rounder, not just a penalty box performer. I hope he will give the side dimension."

Alan Smith would not join Arsenal immediately – he was loaned back to Leicester for the remaining part of the season, much to the annoyance of Leicester's fellow relegation strugglers – but, from the start of the 1987-88 season, Charlie Nicholas' days were numbered.

Despite a hat-trick against Portsmouth, Smith endured a hard start to his Arsenal career, at one point going a full two months without scoring, leading to much criticism on and off the terraces. But Smith would prove his worth in the long term, two golden boots in Arsenal's title wins, the first goal at Anfield in that match, and a winner in the Cup-Winners' Cup final undoubted highlights in his Arsenal career.

The catalyst for Smith's improved form from the summer of 1988 onwards had arrived from Sheffield in March 1988. Which brings us nicely on to....

Brian Marwood in March 1988

Brian Marwood. Photograph: Antonia Hille/Getty Images

Admittedly this wasn't strictly a deadline deal, as Marwood was purchased a couple of days before the final day, but this signing has to be included, due to the relatively short-term impact it had on the team. Bought by Graham for £600,000, the manager was naturally delighted at his latest acquisition: "He has two good feet and can play on the left or right-hand side. He is ideal for my squad."

Towards the end of the 1987-88 season, winger Marwood scored on his home debut against Coventry, and began to ping in the deadly accurate crosses upon which Smith would thrive in the title-winning campaign to follow.

Marwood was at his best at the start of the 1988-89 season, when the goals and assists flowed. One performance in a live match at Forest was particularly impressive, with Marwood skinning Des Walker for Arsenal's final goal in a 4-1 win. Nine goals many assists from the wing in 31 league games would have made him a dream Fantasy Football purchase had the game existed back then. More importantly though, his part in the 1988-89 title win was priceless.

He missed the Anfield match with injury, but he was at the ground in a club blazer to celebrate the unlikely victory. He fully deserved to be. We may have only had "Brian, Brian Marwood on the wing" for a relatively short space of time, but what a signing.

Frank McAvennie in March 1989

Frank McAvennie applauds the West Ham fans on his return to the club. Photograph: Action Images

Frank McAvennie is one that got away, and in hindsight perhaps we were lucky. When he decided to leave Celtic and return to West Ham in preference over Arsenal, more than a few eyebrows were raised. The Hammers were in the middle of a relegation fight – one they would lose come the end of the season– and with Arsenal top of the table, surely McAvennie's destination was obvious?

Graham's last-minute bid for the player highlighted that Arsenal's title bid was beginning to hit the buffers, and that maybe some fresh blood was needed. Yet McAvennie opted for a doomed spell back at Upton Park, saying that loyalty was a major reason behind his decision; although Arsenal's reluctance to break their wage structure for him and the looming eye of disciplinarian Graham may have had something to do with it.

It is a pretty frightening to consider the parallel universe in which McAvennie's joined Arsenal. Would the club have won the league? What would have happened in subsequent seasons? Would Graham have been able to control McAvennie's off-field excesses (it's doubtful) and got the best out of him?

In reality, the signing would probably have been a complete disaster, and McAvennie may well have been lumped in with the likes of Rodney Marsh or Faustino Asprilla as scapegoats (fairly or unfairly) for failed championship run-ins. We will never know of course, but a penny for McAvennie's thoughts on the evening of May 26, 1989.

• This is an article from our Guardian Sport Network

• This blog first appeared on That 1980s Sports Blog

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