MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – FEBRUARY 1999

Billed as “England’s hottest striker”, Andy Cole is the cover star of Manchester United’s official magazine, as they face a busy run of games domestically ahead of the return of European football in March.

That European action is a European Cup Quarter-Final against Inter Milan, and they get a profile for fans looking to swot up on their knowledge of the Italian giants.

Cover star Cole gets a four page profile, revealing that he was delighted when it was announced that Dwight Yorke had signed for United.

Another interviewee is Brian Kidd, who is being interviewed having just left the club to become manager at Blackburn.

Brian McClair has also joined him at Blackburn, with Kidd joking that he can start up a new diary. United’s new diarist Jaap Stam comments about how this is the first season in his career without a Winter break.

Naturally, there are reviews of recent matches, this edition looking back at a draw filled December 1998.

The magazine ends with Jesper Blomqvist and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer going head to head in a quiz, which is also a Scandinavian derby. Ole wins by six to five, but didn’t know who the Lead Singer of The Cardigans is.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – DECEMBER 1997

Andy Cole is the cover star of Manchester United’s official magazine, having been in red hot goalscoring form all season.

In news, Roy Keane’s season is over after it is revealed he has suffered a cruciate injury.

Elsewhere, Denis Irwin is now United’s penalty taker after misses by Teddy Sheringham against Tottenham and Derby.

There is an advertorial for Sega Worldwide Soccer 98 on Sega Saturn, where Teddy Sheringham plays England v Italy in what he hopes will be the World Cup Final the following year. England won 4-2. On the Sega, that is.

Also in adverts, you can buy mugs in the shape of the face of your favourite footballer.

As ever, there is a review of recent matches, including the statement 3-2 win over Juventus in the Group Stage of the European Cup.

The magazine ends with an interview with Karel Poborsky, who states that Val Kilmer is the best Batman.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – APRIL 1998

The 97/98 season is approaching the final straight, and Andy Cole is the cover star of Manchester United’s official magazine.

As you open the magazine, there is an advert for a video game called Three Lions, the official video game of the England football team.

In news, United look set to add to the Norwegian contingent at Old Trafford with the signing of 17 year old Erland Hanstveit.

Cover star Cole gets interviewed, revealing that his best goalscoring season at United is due to the team playing to his strengths.

It was recently the 40th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, and the commemorations were covered in a three page feature.

There is a profile of Raimond Van Der Gowu, dubbed the most patient man at Old Trafford due to his role as sub keeper.

In reviews, the guide to food at football grounds gets four stars out of five.

The magazine ends with a Q and A with Peter Schmeichel, who reveals that he wouldn’t go on TFI Friday.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 26.8.2000

Kevin Phillips is the cover star of Match as he gives the lowdown on the men looking to take his Golden Boot off him in 2000-2001.

Trying to recover from injury, Ronaldo (The original one, not Cristiano) releases a video as he aims to prove his fitness.

John Aloisi of Coventry gets interviewed as to his firsts, his first football kit was a Juventus one, and his first concert was an Italian singer whose name he can’t pronounce.

There is a double page spread on Kevin Phillips analysing his rivals for the Golden Boot such as Andy Cole, Thierry Henry and Carl Cort.

Continuing the theme of strikers in this episode, Match does a feature on new strikers in the Premier League such as Alen Boksic, Sergei Rebrov, Mark Viduka and Luc Nilis.

Emile Heskey gets a triple page feature, as he admits that Spurs and Leeds were never in the running when he was leaving Leicester.

It’s not all strikers, as some defenders are interviewed ………. as the who the best Premier League striker is. Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp were the most nominated.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – JANUARY 1998

Ryan Giggs, Andy Cole and Phil Neville are frolicking in the snow on the cover of Manchester United’s official magazine to celebrate United being Christmas Number 1 in the Premier League charts.

In news, Peter Schmeichel says United have made a breakthrough in European football after winning their European Cup group, but doesn’t believe lifting the trophy in Amsterdam is a formality.

Elsewhere, Andy Cole has signed a new contract keeping him at United until 2002.

David Beckham is the subject of a five page interview, as does United’s latest home grown debutants Ronnie Wallwork and John Curtis, who both came on as substitutes in the win over Barnsley in late October.

Brian McClair’s Diary reveals he appeared in a firework safety event, and met a fan in the shape of a Celtic supporting Government Minister.

The magazine ends with a Happy New Year message from various United players.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – MARCH 1997

Andy Cole is the cover star of Manchester United’s official magazine in a month which sees United return to European action after a Winter break.

There is speculation about Alex Ferguson’s future at United, saying he has no plans to retire this side of the millennium.

United’s forthcoming tie against Porto gets a four page preview, with former Porto manager Bobby Robson expecting his former side to go through.

United’s recent games get reviewed, a period that saw progress in the League but an FA Cup exit.

Ray Wilkins gets interviewed as he is nearing the end of his playing career at the age of 40.

Cover star Cole gets a four page interview as he aims to recover from injury to help United’s bid for trophies in the final months of the season.

The magazine ends with a Q and A with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who reveals he likes living in Altrincham.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – MARCH 1998

Ryan Giggs is the cover star of Manchester United’s official magazine as United return to European football after a Winter break with a European Cup Quarter-Final against Monaco.

Cover star Giggs gets a four page profile, who reveals that he would be surprised if United don’t get past Monaco, despite describing Monaco as a good team.

Also getting profiled in this magazine is Roy Keane, as he aims to come back from a serious injury, one that would keep him out for the rest of the 97/98 season.

Monaco get a three page profile, looking at some of their key players which includes future United star Fabian Barthez.

Paul Parker gets interviewed as he looks to find himself a new club, trying to avoid being on the footballing scrapheap at the age of 33. He was most recently training with Sunderland.

There is also a review of United’s matches in January 1998.

The magazine ends with a Q and A with Andy Cole, who declares that Sean Connery is the only James Bond.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : WORLD SOCCER – NOVEMBER 1998

An expensively assembled team in Sky Blue are featured on the cover of this edition of World Soccer, but it’s not Manchester City, it’s Lazio.

In Jersey, there is an experiment taking place where a referee can move a free-kick forward ten yards if a defending player shows dissent or engages in unsporting behaviour.

In this edition, World Soccer has an article on satellite channels and receivers that can pick up football from around the world. One of those clubs you could watch, is Anderlecht, who get a page feature about their recent downturn in form.

Drugs were a major issue this month, with rumours of failed tests in Serie A being covered up, and one journalist suggesting that referees should be subject to random testing like players.

There is an article based on a quote from Ray Clemence that there are too many foreign goalkeepers in England, looking at the shotstoppers of the twenty Premier League clubs, noting that the two most promising English prospects, Steve Simonsen and Richard Wright, are playing outside the top flight.

Lazio get a four page profile, having spent £70m to try and win the Serie A title. They did manage it in 2000, but not since. One of those player in the expensively assembled sky blue outfit ……. was Roberto Mancini.

Two of those pages are used for an interview with Christian Vieri, who left Lazio the following summer in a big money move, becoming the world’s most expensive player when he signed for Inter Milan.

German football is in crisis with the departure of Berti Vogts as national team manager, and the DFB being rebuffed, for various reasons, in their attempts to appoint Otto Rehhagel, Christoph Daum, Jupp Heynckes, Franz Beckenbauer, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Roy Hodgson and Paul Breitner, before eventually settling on Erich Ribbeck.

Davor Suker, top scorer at the summer’s World Cup gets a double page profile, while Croatia’s Euro 2000 Qualifying opponents, Yugoslavia, get a double page spread.

It’s not just Germany who had a change in manager, the departure of Spain manager Javier Clemente after a 3-2 defeat to Cyprus in their opening Euro 2000 Qualifier got a double page spread. He was immediately replaced by Jose Antonia Camacho.

Across the border in France, Vikash Dhorasoo gets a full page feature, as the most exciting prospect in French football.

Back in Germany, Keir Radnedge reports on the success of the two Munich clubs, currently first and second in the Bundesliga.

In England, Aston Villa are top with an almost all English team (Mark Bosnich from Australia being the only foreigner in their regular starting eleven) and have money to spend following the sale of Dwight Yorke. World Soccer suggest that money could be used to bid on another English player, Andy Cole of Manchester United.

A former manager of Cole, George Graham, has new employment, as manager of Tottenham Hotspur, a move that has divided the club’s fans, given his long association with Arsenal.

In Scotland, Marco Negri is in dispute with Rangers, with manager Dick Advocaat accusing him of lying to the media about his transfer situation.

Northern Ireland’s news is dominated by the resurgence of Linfield and Glentoran, looking to win their first title in 5 and 7 years respectively, but already pulling away from the chasing pack at the top of the table.

Also in dispute with their club like Marco Negri, was future Rangers players Frank and Ronald De Boer, who want to leave for Barcelona.

Bruce Grobbelaar made a comeback of sorts, playing for Zimbabwe at the age of 41, as well as being part of their coaching staff.

Brian Glanville uses his column to question Alex Ferguson’s record in the European Cup and World Cup, in the aftermath of a TV documentary where he referred to Paul Ince as “A big time charlie”

Glanville also uses his column to question the wisdom of those who want Terry Venables to return as England manager following England’s poor start to Euro 2000 qualification.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 29.5.1999

David May, David Beckham, Teddy Sheringham, and the FA Cup are the cover stars of Match, as Manchester United have just won the double, a third in six years, but there’s more to come.

Unfortunately, printing deadlines mean that only a preview, rather than a review, of the European Cup Final against Bayern Munich can appear in the magazine.

In the news section, there’s a random story of a West Ham celebrity fan having a kickabout at West Ham’s training group with Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand ……. Tamzin Outhwaite from Eastenders.

Meanwhile, Alan Thompson predicts big things for Aston Villa in 1999-2000, despite their 1998-1999 title challenge falling apart after Christmas. They finished 6th in 2000, like in 1999, but did reach the FA Cup Final.

Peter Beagrie, having just helped Bradford into the Premier League, is interviewed for a feature called “My First …..” where he reveals his first concert was Diana Ross at the NEC in Birmingham, his first film was Jaws, and his first kit was QPR.

The FA Cup Final, where Manchester United beat Newcastle United 2-0, gets a five page round-up, mostly pictures, with quotes, with a page dedicated to a mimute by minute report of the game.

The rest of the magazine is dubbed “Champions Special”, dedicated to teams that have won their league. First up, is Rangers, and a double page interview with Andrei Kanchelskis ahead of the Scottish Cup Final between Rangers and Celtic.

Meanwhile, Sunderland (Division One) Fulham (Division Two) Brentford (Division Three) and Cheltenham (Conference) all get full page reviews of their title winning seasons.

Meanwhile, there is a five page preview of the European Cup Final, focusing on an interview with Ryan Giggs, while Yorke and Cole get a joint interview as well.

Bayern Munich get a full page, written by Steffan Effenberg, listing five reasons why they would win, that they were underdogs, well prepared, good at penalties, under no pressure, and most importantly, United had Roy Keane missing.

It was a bit laughable of Bayern Munich to pretend they were underdogs considering they actually won their group (though both games were draws) ahead of United.

There is a centre page poster for the game, where fans can fill in blank spaces with the team line-ups and goalscorers.

Manchester’s other team, City, also had a big match that week, as they headed to Wembley for the Division Two Play-Off Final, and Match does a double page interview with Nicky Weaver.

But it’s not all about Champions, as Dennis Bergkamp looks back at Arsenal’s season, where they missed out on the title by a point.

Gareth Southgate is interviewed about Aston Villa’s New Year collapse (They were top of the league at Christmas) and heaps praise on youngsters in their team such as Gareth Barry, Lee Hendrie and Darius Vassell.

In the letters page, a West Bromwich Albion fan worries that his side might lose top goalscorer Lee Hughes. He left for Coventry in a big money move in 2001, before returning to Albion, before being sacked by the club after being sentence to prison for causing death by dangerous driving.

In other letters, a young Wigan Athletic fan suggests that the town’s football team are in the process of becoming more high profile than it’s rugby team.

This week, is also one of the very first weeks where you contribute to Match’s letters page via e-mail. Modern technology.

Meanwhile, you could do a quiz on Aston Villa right-back Steve Watson, if you wanted.

Talking of quizzes, Karl-Heinz Reidle took on Gianfranco Zola in a football quiz, with Zola winning 9 (out of 10) to 8.

It was Karl-Heinz Reidle’s inability to answer who got promoted from Division Three that cost him.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 31.7.1999

It’s the last pre-season of the 20th century, and Match has got an exclusive interview with David Beckham, newly married, new dad, and just helped Manchester United to the treble.

The cover image, is of him celebrating just after the final whistle of the 1999 European Cup Final.

In news, Manchester United have a new away kit, and Match goes behind the scenes at the promotional photoshoot.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen manager Ebbe Skovdahl has had mattresses added to the training ground so players can get some sleep inbetween training sessions.

As it’s Team Tab time of year, Match has a handy guide on how to use and update them.

David Beckham’s interview gets four pages, talking about his eventful year, and how supportive (the newly knighted) Sir Alex Ferguson was, and how he deserves his knighthood.

Match does a feature on who the world’s highest paid footballer is …… Christian Vieri of Inter Milan, also the most expensive footballer in the world, earning 123 grand a week.

Of the Top 15, not one was English, or playing with an English club.

The highest paid player in England was Marcel Desailly, on 42 grand a week.

Alan Shearer, on 40 grand a week, was the highest paid English player.

Also getting four pages is Arsene Wenger, giving his advice on how to build a successful team.

The new Scottish season is about to begin, and Match interviews Henrik Larsson about Celtic’s chances, a season he would miss eight months of after getting injured in October.

A player from each club is interviewed and asked to predict the champions. Mark Viduka of Celtic was the only player not to predict Rangers to win the league. Rangers proved those eleven right by winning the league.

Having been Britain’s most expensive footballer four years previously, Stan Collymore was loaned from Aston Villa to Fulham as he looks to get his career back on track. Eighteen months later, he had retired.

Meanwhile, a new rap star was about to hit the charts, straight outta the mean streets of ………. Nottingham.

Andy Cole was about to launch his debut single ‘Outstanding’, which it was, and he offers his advice on how to be a rap star.

Match accompanied him at the video shoot, and there is a Smash Hits style lyrics sheet, if you want to sing along.