Mark Wright is the cover star of Shoot as he wants to be part of the England squad that goes to Mexico 86 after being dropped for England’s recent friendly in Israel.
His determination to reach Mexico was in vain, as a broken leg sustained playing for Southampton would rule him out, though he would get to play for England in the 1990 World Cup.
The countdown to Mexico is in full swing, as Northern Ireland face fellow finalists Denmark in a friendly at Windsor Park, with Shoot doing a feature on 40 year old goalkeeper Pat Jennings, as Northern Ireland aim to keep a 7th successive clean sheet.
They wouldn’t get it as the match finished a 1-1 draw.
Another veteran hoping to go to Mexico was Kenny Dalglish, now player-manager at Liverpool, on the verge of winning his 100th cap in Scotland in the friendly against Romania. However, like the cover star Mark Wright, he would have the action at home after missing out through injury.
Not to be left out, Wales get a feature, as their recent friendly saw a changing on the guard, as Joey Jones retired as joint most capped player, while Malcolm Allen made his debut, and was already compared to Mark Hughes.
Wales are in Dublin for a friendly as the opposition in Jack Charlton’s first game as Republic of Ireland manager, and Charlton gets a full page feature.
BBC pundit Bob Wilson gets a double page column, where he states that Bruce Grobbelaar is the best goalkeeper in England.
Another Scotsman writing for Shoot is Charlie Nicholas, writing about his boyhood idol Kenny Dalglish, who scored six goals for Celtic against Kilmarnock in the first game Nicholas went to, and urges Alex Ferguson to select him for Scotland’s World Cup squad.
Bryan Robson uses his column to hit back at Kevin Keegan, who suggested that he should be playing a Sweeper role for England, stating that his best position is as an attacking midfielder.
This edition is all about the World Cup, as Hungary get a full page feature, looking at their chances in Mexico.
Hearts, billed as “The club that shocked Scottish soccer” get a double page spread looking at their success under Wallace Mercer.
1986 was an agonising year for them, as they lost the league on the last day, then lost the Scottish Cup Final the following week.
Staying in Scotland, Dundee United manager Jim McLean hits out at stayaway fans, fearing that a lack of gate revenue will force the club to sell stars such as Maurice Malpas and Richard Gough.
Transfer Deadline Day isn’t a modern phenomenon, as Shoot features Colin West, who signed for Watford on Deadline Day the previous year, and Shoot looked at the changes he had to cope with, moving clubs at short notice.
One player who moved more recently was Peter Davenport, who left Nottingham Forest for Manchester United, tells Shoot that he had joined his dream club, having stood on the Stretford End as a lad.
It was the continent where English players might be moving to in the future, with PFA chief Gordon Taylor warning that English football could be losing it’s star players to clubs from Italy and Spain.
It’s derby say in Birmingham as Villa and City go head to head as both clubs are desperate for points to avoid relegation, with Andy Gray of Villa and Wayne Clarke of Birmingham both interviewed.
Going back to the World Cup, Chris Waddle tells Shoot that he fears getting axed from the England squad due to his poor form.
On the back page, there is a profile of Liam Brady.
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