Alf Haynes

Who was Alf Haynes?

Alfred Edward "Alf" Haynes was an English footballer.

Born in Oxford, Haynes started out at Oxford City before joining Arsenal aged 21 in 1928. A half back, he spent six seasons at Arsenal but only played 29 first-team games; however these coincided with the start of the club's first period of success under Herbert Chapman. Haynes made his debut against Liverpool on 21 December 1929 at Anfield, a game Arsenal lost 1-0. Nevertheless, Haynes played 14 games that season but missed out on the 1930 FA Cup Final, which Arsenal won, gaining their first major trophy.

Haynes continued to play mostly for the reserves, winning the London Combination three times. However he missed out on a first-team winners' medal as he was only used sparingly as Arsenal won two League titles in 1930-31 and 1932-33. However, he did pick up a winners medal after playing in Arsenal's 1-0 defeat of West Bromwich Albion in the 1931 FA Charity Shield. His final appearance for Arsenal came against Blackburn Rovers on 7 October 1933.