A dynamic centre forward, a lifelong Gooner and, by every single account, a lovely man. Kevin was truly a gentle giant. Very few compare. A good man taken far too soon.
Our thoughts are with Kevin’s family and his friends. Kevin will also be missed by a far wider circle: by those who watched him play for the Arsenal and for Nottingham Forest, Trabzonspor, Everton, West Brom or Cardiff City and by those who were privileged to hear or read Kevin’s pearls of wisdom on social media in recent years.
There are some excellent tributes out there from people who have met Kevin. Amy Lawrence’s tribute in the Athletic and the Arsenal tribute are two of the best. Blogs, Gav, Pedro and, especially, Mike Feinstein give insights into Kevin’s warm and generous personality.
RIP Super Kevin Campbell.
Here’s another great tribute from Mike Feinstein
https://x.com/thegoonerspod/status/1802053552442880111?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
When I first supported Arsenal news would come through of the death of old stalwarts who had served the club outstandingly in the past . My Dad would always reflect on their passing with a degree of fond recollection and a disbelief that someone who was so fit and vibrant was no more
The death at 54 of Kevin Campbell is so sad and unexpected although I received a raft of messages a few days ago that he was seriously ill. I remember him coming through the youth team – he was the Martin Obi of his day-,and there was pressure on George to put him into the first team . I recall he played the last game of the 89/90 season at Everton but didn’t start regularly until George put him in as we faced the run-in to the title in 1991 He hit the ground running and became a regular fixture .
He was full of pace and power , good with both feet and strong in the air . I suspect if we’d not bought Wrighty he would have an even bigger place in Arsenal history .
I never met him but I have several friends who did and they always described a genial , knowledgeable and humble man. A man who loved the Arsenal and was taken far too soon
God bless you Super Kev 🙏
Thanks for linking Mike’s Twitter tribute, C100. It’s very moving. I’ve added it to the links on the blog for those who don’t visit the Drinks.
Thankyou for attaching that lovely tribute from Mike about Kevin . He was clearly a special
man
As I read the tributes to Kevin, the descriptions of his warmth and generosity did remind me of the Guvna and Mike’s tribute clinched it.
All men are dust, but some men are gold dust.
Nicely put, Bath.
RIP, Super Kev.
Cheers.
RIP Kevin. By all accounts a fantastic man.
RIP Super Kevin Campbell.
Thanks Bath and c100 for the tributes. Mike Feinstein’s is something special.
What bt8 said @8.
Good performances by both our lads for England tonight. Bellingham and Guehi took the eye but Foden was abysmal,and Kane was starved of service
TTG@10: Foden and Bellingham are a rerun of Gerrard and Lampard, ie difficult to fit both in the team at the same time as their best position is the same. The best team is not necessarily the best eleven players.
Kevin Campbell – so many tributes and not a bad word among them.
Played for many clubs but only ever belonged to one.
Trev@12: Well said.
Excellent if technical breakdown of PSR by PL club by the Swiss Ramble today.
https://swissramble.substack.com/p/which-clubs-have-issues-with-profitability.
Most of it is behind Substack’s paywall but the nub of it is that the financial situation is looking a bit iffy for Aston Villa, Chelsea, Leicester City, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Wolves, whereas we are in a relatively good position to be in compliance with PSR and have headroom for a net spend of £84 million this window if necessary. City, though, has a staggering £416 million of headroom and ‘Pool £200 million.
A veritable lot of cookies might be purchased for the sum of £416
Let alone £416 million need it be said
City might have to spend it all on Pep’s salary, though, if they want to keep him, bt8.
Perhaps an appropriate punishment for City, if found guilty, is that they have to be managed by Big Sam Allardyce for five seasons.
Ned@17, or maybe Tony Pulis.
54 minutes till new season fixtures will be released.
Countryman and son will be plotting their away games, over late breakfast, or morning tea.
Home to Wolves and then 3 tricky away games to start.
Not a bad finish from April onwards though.
Saliba! finally started for France last night as Deschamps decided he would be the better option rather than Konate for this game. I can’t imagine any game that Konate would be the better choice – rugby league maybe?
Sure there will be a number of matches rescheduled midweek, but already all our fixtures already scheduled for midweeks are at home. Including Spu*s.
Guess I shall be attending less games this season, lottery or not.
Winning the League at Anfield will be nice, Matt.
Oh – just lost about 20 minutes of typing in the ether somewhere – on the latest innovation of VAR.
If we’re on top after those first six games we’re winning this.
The neighbours and City, both away, will sandwich our first CL game. That will be tough. Get through those unscathed and, as C100 says, we’ll be well placed.
Opta reckons City has the easiest run-in of any team in the PL next season, with us having the fourth-easiest run-in. However, I wouldn’t particularly want to go to Southampton for the final game of the season with the title resting on the result.
https://theanalyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-premier-league-run-in.jpg
@23 i know a song about doing that Ollie
C115y will need the easiest run-in when they are docked 100 points
Re: TTG @29. Or 150 as the case may be. Your heart is certainly in the right place though. Have the bookies started taking over/under bets on the exact number of points C115ty will be docked? If not, it’s a monumental oversight on their part.
Kevin Campbell was one of the footballers I grew up with as a late bloomer to Arsenal fandom, he was roughly my age and I liked him immediately, I can honestly say that his passing has affected me far more than I ever expected, when Jose Antonio Reyes passed I was saddened but not to the degree Mr Campbell passing has saddened me, I can only compare it to the loss of David Rocastle.
Kevin’s love and passion for the game was shown to be indomitable even after leaving the true home of football with his Everton one man salvation campaign only further enhancing his reputation and then also when he saved the baggies as well even more impressively, he always seemed humble but enthused and although I never met him I followed his career as I have most players who leave the club without acrimony.
Super Kev will be missed but thanks to those who will always remember him he will never be forgotten and I feel poorer for never having met him but priviliged to have seen him play with a smile, determination and the will to win.
DG@31: Lovely and touching post.
>>>>>>>