MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 9.4.1977

Paul Mariner, heading goalwards against Bristol City, is the cover star as the 1976-1977 season nears it’s end.

In news, a Leeds United Supporters Club has been created in Ghana, with 50 members. It’s unknown if a young Tony Yeboah was one of those.

Jim Platt could be on the lookout for a move from Middlesbrough, having lost his first-team place, with the lack of games affecting his international chances.

Gordon Hill uses his column to talk about defender, declaring if you combined Martin Buchan, Mick Mills, Kevin Beattie and Colin Todd, you would have the ideal defender.

There was a double page photo spread from the recent League Cup Final between Everton and Aston Villa. There wasn’t much action to photograph, as the match finished 0-0 and went to a replay. It would eventually need a second replay to get a winner, Aston Villa winning 3-2 at Old Trafford.

1977 was the first year that a League Cup Final finished 0-0.

In foreign news, Poland had a training camp in Yugoslavia, with 15 hour training sessions, ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Denmark on 1st May. They won that match 2-1.

It was announced that Helmut Schoen will step down as West Germany manager after the 1978 World Cup and be replaced by his assistant Jupp Derwall, while players Franz Beckenbauer and Berti Vogts have been asked to become coaches with the national team once they retire.

Europe’s three competitions are at the Semi-Final stage, and Shoot uses two pages to preview all six games.

Shoot does a two page feature interviewing and looking at Scottish players who have moved to clubs in England, before returning to Scotland.

Staying in Scotland, there was a full page preview of the Scottish Cup Semi-final between Celtic and Dundee.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT 19.2.1977

Match action from Ipswich Town v Leeds United is on the cover of Shoot, but it is four other clubs – Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Everton and Queens Park Rangers – who are the main focus, as the League Cup reaches the Semi-Final stage.

In news, 16 year old Alan Currie was set to leave Cliftonville for Luton Town, Leeds and Wales would be meeting in a Testimonial for Gary Sprake. Staying in Yorkshire, Sheffield United want to sign Vic Moreland from Glentoran following Peter Dornan’s return to Linfield.

Neil Warnock, a player at Barnsley, has just passed his referee’s exam and is now a qualified official.

Finally, Radio City in Liverpool have signed up Duncan McKenzie and John Toshack for a Sunday afternoon radio show.

The second legs of the League Cup Semi-Finals are preview, both of which are level after the first legs. The first leg of the QPR v Aston Villa game took place too late to have a reaction from both teams, the game was delayed due to postponements.

Bolton had got a draw at Goodison Park. Bolton manager Ian Greaves commented that his side would now have to manage expectations after the draw at Goodison.

Everton won the second leg 1-0 to go through 2-1 on aggregate.

After a 0-0 draw at Loftus Road, QPR and Aston Villa drew 2-2 in the second leg at Villa Park. There were no away goals in those days, so it went to a replay at Highbury, with Villa winning 3-0.

After needing three games to win their Semi-Final, Villa would need three games to beat Everton in the final, winning a Second Replay 3-2 at Old Trafford.

Kevin Keegan uses his column to talk about tackles from behind, which he describes as “The curse of English soccer”

Shoot does a full page article on the goalscoring record of clubs in the history of league football, with Aston Villa the team with the best goals to game ratio, between 1888 and 1977.

In foreign news, Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalon stadium is set to become the second stadium in West Germany (after the Olympic Stadium in Munich) to get undersoil heating.

South American qualifiers for the 1978 World Cup (in South America) are due to get underway, and Shoot gives it a double page, with interviews from players based in Spain from Brazil, Peru, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Shoot dedicates two pages to the issue of sponsorship in football, canvassing Chairman, Managers, Players, including Derek Dougan, who got into a spot of bother for trying to get Kettering Town to wear shirt sponsorship.

Gordon Hill uses his column to write about his love of hunting, accompanied by a picture of him and Steve Coppell jokingly pointing a shotgun at Tommy Docherty.

Kenny Dalglish talks about celebrity fans in his column, and namedropping famous faces he has met at matches, such as Jackie Stewart and Rod Stewart.

On the back cover, there is a poster of Graeme Souness of Middlesbrough. In it, he has facial hair, but it is of the beard variety, rather than his trademark moustache.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 27.5.1978

World Cup fever is in full swing as this week’s edition of Shoot comes with a free wallchart.

As you open the magazine, there is a double page spread of the marksmen leading the line for each team, with Kenny Dalglish being the player profiled for Scotland.

Ray Clemence uses his column to express his desire to play against Scotland – as it was his mistake in 1976 that won the game for Scotland the last time England played at Hampden Park.

With all the coverage of England and Scotland, Wales fans weren’t ignored, as their team got a full page poster.

The rise of Nottingham Forest from a hopeless second tier team under Brian Clough to league champions gets four pages, including a centre page poster.

A combination of big spending on transfers and ground improvements has seen season ticket prices at Manchester United for 1978-1979 would cost you a whopping £45.

Love was in the air for Blackpool’s Brian Wilson, who got engaged to Anne Nolan, of popular singing group The Nolan Sisters.

One of the teams he found face that summer would be Cliftonville, who had announced a short tour of England to face Blackpool and Southport.

Derek Dougan made a visit to his native Belfast to present Linfield’s Jimmy Martin with the Footballer Of The Year Award.

Though the World Cup is close, the qualifying for Euro 1980 was closer, as Republic Of Ireland are in Copenhagen for their opening qualifier. Shoot gives this a full page preview.

Shoot goes big on Scotland, with various adverts for World Cup related merchandise including the replica kit, and a special Shoot edition solely focusing on Scotland, previewing their games in Argentina.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 22.9.1979

Nottingham Forest winger John Robertson, pictured holding the European Cup, is the cover star accompanied by the headline “CAN FOREST RETAIN THE EUROPEAN CUP?”, as Europe’s three competitions are getting ready to swing into action.

The biggest threat to Forest’s grip on the trophy, in Robertson’s opinion, came from Liverpool, who he said he hope would get put out early, but admitted the two teams playing in the final would be great for English football.

As it turned out, Liverpool had an early exit, a First Round exit to Soviet team Dinamo Tblisi, while Forest would go on and retain the trophy, beating Hamburg 1-0 in Madrid.

Turning over the page, Shoot does a full page feature on the chances of the British sides in their ties, against a various mix of opponents.

In news, Alan Ball Snr (father of 1966 World Cup winner of the same name) is singing the praises of Scandinavian players as representing value for English clubs, having just spent three years coaching in Sweden.

Colin Bell of Manchester City announced his retirement aged 33.

Lawrie McMenemy expressed his fears of a “Super League” emerging within England’s top flight, due to the spending power of some clubs.

Brian Quinn moved from Larne to Everton for £60,000 – a record between clubs from Northern Ireland and England, and is aiming to be the 10th Everton player to play for Northern Ireland since World War II, just short of the 14 players supplied by joint record holders Manchester United and Linfield.

Alex Sabella turned down a move from Sheffield United …….. because his wife wasn’t keen on living in the North-East.

Motherwell manager Ally MacLeod is to be investigated by the SFA after publishing a book claiming that Willie Johnston wasn’t the only Scotland player to have taken illegal substances at the previous summer’s World Cup.

In his column, Ray Clemence is looking forward to his first trip to the Soviet Union, for Liverpool’s European Cup tie with Dinamo Tblisi.

Shoot does a full page feature on the West Country, interviewing a player from Plymouth Argyle, Exeter City and Torquay United on the future of football in the area.

Dave Watson, recently signed for Werder Bremen, was sent off in his second game for the club, and bemoans the strictness of German referees, while also dismissing criticism of his signing by German newspaper Bild.

Andy Gray hits back after being booed by Aston Villa fans after requesting a transfer, and was upset by Villa holding out for £1m, stating no player is worth that amount (though Trevor Francis was earlier that year)

Later that month, Gray signed for Wolves for £1.5m

There was a four page feature on Manchester City, including a double page colour poster.

Tommy Docherty is in fighting form, proclaiming “I’m still one of the best”, and that he is happy with his summer spending having spent £1m on five players, including England Under 21 goalkeeper Chris Woods.

Docherty had been sacked by Manchester United two years previously due to an extramarital affair, and was hoping his spell at Loftus Road would propel him back into the big time.

QPR finished 5th in Division Two (no play-offs then, only the top 3 went up) and Docherty was sacked, before being reinstated, than sacked again in October 1980.

“Life has never been happier at the aptly named Gay Meadow” writes Shoot, presumably in The Flintstones sense, as manager Graham Turner has just led them into England’s second tier for the first time.

Shoot gives a page to Ian Redford, a star at Dundee described as “The new Alan Gilzean”

Redford joined Rangers in 1980 for a Scottish record, won four trophies at Ibrox, and played for Dundee United in the 1987 UEFA Cup Final. Redford died in January 2014, aged 53.

Gordon McQueen uses his column to claim that he scored United’s goal against Southampton on the opening day of the season, which was credited as an own goal, and denies rumours that Mickey Thomas was to be sold to Everton in an exchange for Dave Thomas.

On the back page, there was a colour poster of new Crystal Palace signings Gerry Francis and Mike Flanagan.

50 YEARS OF TOP OF THE POPS : FEB 21 – FEB 27

We begin this week’s round with a JJ and a JD born this week in history. JJ Burnel of The Stranglers, 62 this week.

While this week, JD Bradfield, or James Dean Bradfield to give him his full name, lead singer of Manic Street Preachers turned 46.

He has a brief solo career in the mid 00s. That’s No Way To Tell A Lie is a brilliant song.

And anyway, back to his day job.

James Dean Bradfield shares a birthday with another Welsh singer, Charlotee Church. The singles off her debut solo album were rather good you know.

And in a tenuous link that TOTP would be proud of, she was big in 2005 …….. like James Blunt

And from big in 2005, we go back a few decades to big in 1985 (well, 1983 actually, but don’t let that ruin a link) with Howard Jones.

And staying the 1980s, Quiet Life by Japan is just brilliant.

Meanwhile, George Harrison would have been 71 this week. Unfortunately, there is a lack of Beatles and solo appearances on Youtube, so I compensate by posting a cover when there is a Beatle Birthday.

As he’s my favourite Beatle, he can have Siouxsie and the Banshees doing Dear Prudence. I’m still to decide which Beatle gets Candy Flip.

Ally McLeod would have been 83 this week, but 78 is his, erm, lucky number, as it was 1978 he got immortalised in song by Andy Cameron.

You can tell the audience members who were told to turn up with tartan scarves thought they were going to see The Rollers.

Almost near the end of this week, two more pop stars celebrating a birthday today. First, Steve Harley ……

DISCLAIMER : Introduction features Jimmy Savile.

…… and Rozonda Thomas from TLC

And finally, it’s 38 years ago this week since the death of LS Lowry. A painter, not a singer, he has inspired sone songs, first by Brian and Michael …….

……… and a very young Status Quo, who had yet to discover Double Denim.