Arseblog Arsecast, The Arsenal Podcast Arsenal Women Arsecast Episode 156: If you know your history
Mar 4, 2026
Adam Salter, researcher and Arsenal women historian who runs the AW Archive, describes his mission to fill gaps in Arsenal Ladies' history. He discusses the scarcity of early records and surprising archival finds. He explains collaborations with fans and the club, hurdles with rights and inconsistent stats, and why now is the crucial moment to preserve memorabilia and memories.
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Why Early Arsenal Women Records Are Missing
- Women's football from the 1980s–90s is poorly documented because mainstream media ignored it and only big events got coverage.
- Tim Stillman and Adam Salter show the gap: routine season coverage often vanished except for late-season title matches and occasional local reports.
Middlesex Cup Replaced League Cup In 1995
- In 1995 Arsenal entered the Middlesex County Cup after being barred from the League Cup and lost the final 3-0 to Wembley Ladies with a young Kelly Smith playing.
- This odd replacement competition illustrates how patchy and informal early season records and tournaments could be.
Collaboration Closed Most Historical Gaps
- Collaborative work with long-term supporters and archivists accelerated progress: crowd-sourced spreadsheets and program collectors filled many gaps.
- Adam credits John Williamson and Chris Garrett for existing records that let him reach ~90% completeness from 1991 onward.