George Graham reminisces about Terry Venables

Unusually, George Graham won't be glued to Sunday's latest instalment of the great Tottenham versus Arsenal rivalry. Playing golf is his way of coping with the first north London derby since the passing of his closest friend and rival, Terry Venables.

They first met at Chelsea when Venables played big brother to the teenage Scot thrust into the excitement of Swinging London, and for the next 60 years were pretty much inseparable.

George was best man at Terry's wedding and had him to thank for a career in management. He repaid his mate by helping him get the England job in time for Euro 96.

Above all, the pair illuminated the rich history between Arsenal and Tottenham over different generations.

As a player, Venables lifted the FA Cup with his boyhood team Spurs in 1967 before Graham lifted the league and FA Cup Double for Arsenal.

Before derby matches, newspapers would arrange for the pair to meet up and have pictures taken together as part of the big build-up.

They were also opposition managers in 1991 for the most famous north London derby of all, the FA Cup first semi-final to be held at Wembley because demand for tickets was too high for any other venue to host.

Graham's Arsenal were the best team in England and on the way to becoming league champions whilst Venables' Tottenham boasted the two most popular players in the country, Italia '90 heroes and national treasures Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker.

Despite the high stakes, there are shots of Terry and George enjoying themselves and cracking huge smiles with each other on the Wembley turf. They certainly had enough material to share a few anecdotes, from Elton John being their tea-boy at Chelsea to the lunch in which George tried to dissuade his friend taking over at