MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 14.9.1985

England’s new star striker Gary Lineker shares cover space with Ian Rush, ahead of a vital week of World Cup Qualifiers, with Rush stating that Wales will destroy Scotland.

Rush gets a double page spread, saying that Wales will win and set up a Play-Off against a team from Oceania, due to Scotland missing the suspended Graeme Souness.

Unsurprisingly, Scotland think they will get the win, according to Shoot columnist Willie Miller.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw, a result which sent Scotland into a Play-Off against Australia, which they won 2-0 on aggregate to reach the World Cup in Mexico.

The game will be remembered for the death of Scotland manager Jock Stein, who collapsed on the touchline moments before the final whistle.

Sammy McIlroy gets interviewed about Northern Ireland’s game in Turkey, expecting Turkey to provide difficult opponents despite losing 8-0 to England earlier in the group.

Kevin Sheedy gets interviewed about Republic Of Ireland’s chances of reaching the World Cup, stating that they can do it. Sheedy had yet to win an away game in his international career, and would need to start doing so, with trips to Switzerland and Soviet Union coming up.

England’s game against Romania is previewed, with manager Bobby Robson singing the praises of Gary Lineker, who had only made his international debut earlier that year.

Bryan Robson uses his column to focus on players who are aiming to head to Mexico next summer, such as Adrian Heath, Paul Walsh, Peter Davenport, Steve Williams and Remi Moses.

Celtic’s new star Alan McInally gets a double page spread, while Rangers also get a double page spread. Well, Queens Park Rangers.

Justin Fashanu also gets a profile as he hopes to get Brighton promoted from the Second Division.

Charlie Nicholas uses his column to express his fears after Scotland manager Jock Stein considers picking only domestic based players after having problems getting access to English based players.

One Scottish striker not worried about not getting picked is Kenny Dalglish, also player-manager at Liverpool, telling Shoot he’ll have no hesitation in dropping himself.

Meanwhile, there is disharmony with the West Germany squad, due to a row breaking out between Berndt Schuster and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Schuster was currently in international exile due to a disagreement with manager Franz Beckenbauer.

A dispute with broadcasters means that no club games in England are televised, so Shoot does double page photos of some of the best action.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT 1.2.1986

Craig Johnston of Liverpool is the cover star ahead of a big week of cup football, but it will be revealed inside that he could be ending his season at the World Cup in Mexico.

Terry Gibson gets a double page interview after having an eventful year where his house and car suffered a series of attacks from a female fan who wanted to try and stop him from leaving Coventry.

Trevor Brooking tries to predict the outcome of the 4th Round of the FA Cup, tipping wins for Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton.

In Scotland, Shoot predicts a cup exit for Rangers in the tie of the round away to Hearts.

Shoot does a feature on Hung Quec Dang, who won Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools Competition to be invited to train with Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus and Aston Villa.

As the World Cup nears, Shoot does a “Focus On …..” with Bobby Robson, where he reveals that his favourite singers are Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond and Shirley Bassey.

As you turn the page, there is another Robson, this time Bryan, who suggests that Craig Johnston, an Australian eligible for England, should be in England’s World Cup squad, while adding that Scotland and Northern Ireland might also be interested in getting his services, as he was eligible for all three countries due to having a UK passport.

There is a third Robson, Stewart, who got mentioned in Bryan’s column, suggesting he might be a star for Bobby at Euro 88.

Staying with the World Cup preparations, Scotland manager Alex Ferguson hits back at suggestions that his role with the national side is having a negative impact on Aberdeen, as he tries to do two jobs at once.

West Ham are getting cheered on from Yorkshire, as Mervyn Day tells Shoot he is pleased to see West Ham’s upturn in results this season.

Anthony Smith of Anglesey wins Jimmy Greaves Letter Of The Week for suggesting Don Revie should return to Leeds as manager, while Padraic Moran of Kilkenny suggests Liverpool should drop Ian Rush.

Gerry Forrest gets a full page feature, as he comes to terms with making his top flight debut at the age of 29, after making a move from Rotheram United to Southampton.

In transfer rumours, Everton want to sign Nick Pickering, Luton want to sign Brian McClair, and Sammy McIlroy wants to leave Manchester City in order to get games for the forthcoming World Cup.

Ian Rush uses his column to hit back at Brian Clough, after the Nottingham Forest manager accused Liverpool of being moaners after a recent draw between the two teams.

Motherwell get a Club Profile, while Aston Villa manager Graham Turner defends his record in the transfer market, having spent relatively big money on Paul Elliott, Simon Stainrod, Steve Hodge and Andy Gray.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : WORLD SOCCER – AUGUST 1986

It’s the summer of 1986, and Diego Maradona, holding aloft the World Cup is the cover star of World Soccer, with Mexico 86 still a recent memory.

As you open the magazine, there is a tribute to former FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous, described as “The Father Of Football”, who was taken ill in Mexico, and died a few weeks later on his return to London.

World Soccer views Mexico 86 as a success, but the tournament was not without flaws. Having 24 teams in the finals and allowing some 3rd placed teams to qualify, in their view, encouraged Bulgaria to employ negative tactics against Argentina, as a narrow defeat would put them through.

Azeglio Vicini is the favourite for the Italy job, should Enzo Bearzot leave his job as manager of the recently dethroned champions.

There is a double page profile of Argentina’s winning squad.

France get a post-mortem, having reached the Semi-Finals for the second successive tournament, where it is declared that their glorious midfield is a thing of the past.

Denmark get previewed, but are looking forward, not back, to an upcoming friendly against West Germany as they aim for revenge against a team they beat in Mexico. Why revenge? West Germany manager Franz Beckenbauer described their style of play as primitive.

England’s post-mortem focuses om the future of Bobby Robson, with writer Eric Batty saying he must stay in the job.

Bayern Munich get a double page feature as they aim to win the European Cup. They came close, losing to Porto in he final that season.

There is a feature on two young Scottish managers in big jobs, Kenny Dalglish who won the League and FA Cup in his first season as Liverpool manager, and Graeme Souness, given his first job at Rangers, and caused a stir by calling them the biggest club in Britain.

In Yugoslavia, Partizan Belgrade have been stripped of the league title as a result of alleged match fixing.

The draws for the 1st Round of the three European trophies are reviewed, with the tie of the round being the meeting of PSV Eindhoven and Bayern Munich in the European Cup.

There is a feature about club football in Canada, or rather, the lack of, something which World Soccer says is vital is they want to capitalise on reaching their first World Cup.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 5.7.1986

Diego Maradona is the cover star of Match having just lifted the World Cup, as Match reviews the 1986 World Cup.

The match itself gets a double page spread.

Also getting a double page spread is the plight of tall strikers, following Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley’s success as a partnership in Mexico.

In Scotland, Davie Cooper has warned that the national team will begin to suffer due to the lack of emphasis on skill in domestic games. Avi Cohen is set to sign for Rangers, but Hearts have been priced out of a move for Liam Brady.

There is a feature on teenage goalkeeper Tim Flowers, signed by Southampton as Peter Shilton’s deputy, with plans to one day replace him.

Mike Hazard of Chelsea gets a profile, where he reveals that his favourite singer is Michael Jackson.

After reaching the knockout stages in Mexico, several of Morocco’s players are keen on playing their club football in England.

Talking of England, manager Bobby Robson is intending to stay in charge until the 1990 World Cup.

Match reviews the ratings given to England players in Mexico, with Peter Beardsley being the best performer, with a rating of 7.67

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : FOOTBALL MONTHLY – MAY 1982

Kenny Dalglish is the cover star of Football Monthly as the 1982 World Cup approaches, a tournament he will be playing in for Scotland.

There are rumours that the management duo of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor might be breaking up, with Taylor wanting to become a manager in his own right.

Arnold Muhren gets profiled as one of the best foreign players in England, while English players could be set for moves to Italy after the Italian FA passed a rule to allow teams to have two foreign players in Serie A.

Barry Davies writes a column where he praises Bobby Robson, describing him as a future England manager, while another columnist praises Stewart Robson of Arsenal, predicting he could be playing top flight football for 20 years.

In Northern Ireland, John Jameson of Glentoran is profiled, revealing that his middle name is Charles, and that he is named in tribute to John Charles.

In Scotland, Ruud Krol of Holland expects them to get to the Second Phased of the World Cup, with the Dutch having recently face Scotland in a friendly.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 16.11.1985

Pat Jennings is the cover star of Shoot, as he gets ready to face England at Wembley in a World Cup Qualifier knowing that a point will be enough for Northern Ireland to go to their second successive finals.

Going into this game, England Under 21 manager Dave Sexton suggests that Terry Fenwick is the man senior manager Bobby Robson should turn to should Kenny Sansom get injured.

Should Northern Ireland reach Mexico, Martin O’Neill is planning to undergo surgery in a bid to be fit for it, having previously considered retirement due to his injury problems.

Wales are going in to their Euro 88 campaign minus Mark Hughes for three matches due to a red card he got playing in an underage international in 1983, and have launched an appeal to get this quashed.

Betty Westmancoat (Walsall) and John Westmancoat (West Bromwich Albion) made history by being the first husband and wife duo to be Club Secretary at two different clubs.

Ahead of the big game at Wembley, Bryan Robson uses his column to declare that England won’t make it easy for Northern Ireland, as Northern Ireland aim to reach Mexico.

Pat Jennings gets a double page feature, as he becomes the world’s joint most capped goalkeeper, and announced he will retire at Wembley regardless of the result.

In this feature, it is revealed that England manager Bobby Robson tried to bring him to Ipswich Town in 1977, but lost out to Arsenal.

Jennings retirement sees Shoot look at the goalkeeper options for the future, which Shoot narrows down to Eric McManus, Jim Platt and George Dunlop.

Republic Of Ireland are out of Mexico 86, but are defending a 13 year unbeaten home record in competitive internationals as they face Denmark at Lansdowne Road.

Eoin Hand has already announced his departure as manager, and Shoot has linked John Giles, Liam Touhy, and Jim McLaughlin, having ruled out Jack Charlton and Bob Paisley due to the FAI being unlikely to appoint a non Irish manager.

Shoot asks four foreign stars to assess England’s chances in Mexico, with Paolo Rossi saying they can win it, while Michel Platini, Jose Camacho and Manuel Bento saying that they can’t.

Glenn Hoddle is this week’s “Focus On …..” where he reveals that his favourite music was The Eagles, but it is now Don Henley and Phil Collins. He loves his singing drummers.

A future team-mate of Hoddle could be Gordon Durie, with Tottenham joining Arsenal and Chelsea in the race for his signature, with Hibs placing a £300,000 price tag on him.

Alan Sinclair of Glasgow writes to Jimmy Greaves to complain about Andy Goram’s call-up to the Scotland squad, as he was born in England, while Andrea Pepper in Carrick says that Northern Ireland won’t need any favours in the forthcoming World Cup Qualifier.

Reading get a profile, while Peter Reid uses his column to reveal he fears missing out on a World Cup place as his injury gives others a chance to stake a claim in the team.

Alan Davies gets a profile, telling Shoot that he is enjoying playing for Newcastle United every week.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT MEXICO 86 SPECIAL

At this moment 30 years ago, Italy and Bulgaria players were walking onto the pitch at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for the opening game of Mexico 86.

The game was broadcast live on the BBC. As people sat in front of their TVs awaiting the month of football to come, it’s possible they may have been reading Shoot’s 1986 World Cup Preview guide, costing 75p.

With three UK teams in the finals (something that wouldn’t happen again until Euro 2016), Shoot capitalised on this by having a player from Scotland (Gordon Strachan), England (Bryan Robson) and Northern Ireland (Norman Whiteside) all holding the World Cup trophy.

All three were playing for the same club in 1986, so it was obviously convenient for them to arrange the photoshoot.

As you open the magazine, there is a double page editorial saying “Go get em lads”, wishing the three UK teams good luck.

There is then a double page TV guide, but it only covers the opening match, and the home nations group games. For the record, Northern Ireland and Scotland had two live games on ITV and one on the BBC, while England had two games on the BBC and one on ITV.

Trevor Francis gets four pages to write about who he thinks will be the stars in Mexico, predicting big things from Hugo Sanchez, Rudi Voeller, Preben Elkjaer, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Rinat Dasaev, Zico and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Enzo Scifo, Daniel Passarella, Antonio Cabrini, Zibi Boniek and Michael Laudrup.

Quite a lot of those players were based in Serie A, where Francis was playing his club football.

Mick Channon gets two pages to assess the three home nations, predicting Bryan Robson to lead England to the Quarter-Finals (They would reach that stage, but Robson would be at home injured), Scotland to reach the Second Round (Group stage exit) and Northern Ireland to reach the knockout stages (group stage exit)

Channon also commented that he was recently in Belfast to play in a testimonial game for George Dunlop.

Mal Donaghy gets a lot of praise from Channon, stating he would walk into England and Scotland’s teams, comparing him to Bobby Moore.

For the whole tournament, he expected Argentina to beat Brazil in the final.

Tony Roche gets a double page spread to assess the rest of the European teams, stating that Denmark could take the competition by storm, comparing them to Holland’s team of the 70s.

There is a full page round up of the results and tables from the European groups.

Peter Reid gets interviewed with the headline “ON YER BIKE JOAN COLLINS”. In case you’re wondering why, England will be warming up in America, staying in a hotel in Denver which is used to film scenes for the TV show Dynasty.

Reid comments on the progress in his career between World Cups, having just avoided relegation to the Third Division with Bolton in 1982, he was now challenging for trophies with Everton.

Shoot canvassed journalists from around the world for their opinion, and the consensus was that Brazil would repeat their success in Mexico they had in 1970.

Bobby Moore writes about his experiences at the 1970 World Cup, advising the players that playing Snooker will be a good way to relieve the boredom in the hotel room.

Charlie Nicholas gets four pages to write about his Scotland team-mates, where he reveals he shares a room with Steve Nicol. They are good mates, but Nicholas doesn’t share Nicol’s love of Status Quo.

There is a double page interview with the three UK managers, Bobby Robson (England), Alex Ferguson (Scotland) and Billy Bingham (Northern Ireland)

Ferguson and Robson predict Brazil will win the trophy, while Bingham shies away from predicting a winner.

Bryan Robson writes a two page article where he predicts England will reach the Semi-Finals, and that Gary Lineker will be England’s biggest star in Mexico, comparing him to Jimmy Greaves.

There are two pages then dedicated to the South American challenge, written by Tony Roche.

Shoot has bagged an interview with Diego Maradona, who says England look good, Northern Ireland have a chance of reaching the knock-out stage, while Scotland are in the toughest group. He didn’t predict Morocco to upset anyone.

The main question asked in Northern Ireland’s preview is where the goals will come from. Billy Bingham has a lot of praise for Norman Whiteside, predicting him to be a regular Northern Ireland player for the next decade.

Jimmy Greaves has two pages of letters, where a Notts County fan predicts Algeria to win because of Rachid Harkouk, to which Greaves sarcastically responds.

There is a full page dedicate to free-kick experts, listing the best players with this skill, including Platini, Hoddle, Cooper and Molby.

As well as looking forward, Shoot also looks back at England, Scotland and Northern Ireland’s World Cup history.

There are two pages dedicated to Jock Stein, who was Scotland manager during the qualifying campaign until his death after the game against Wales in September 1985, with tributes from Alex Ferguson and Billy McNeill.

There is a competition where you can win a Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Ray Clemence World Cup video game.

The preview ends with an infographic of all the team’s kits.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 3.5.1980

The first tournament of the 1980s is approaching, Euro 80, and Shoot is attempting to do Ron Greenwood’s job for him by picking the England squad for this tournament.

Shoot gives a double page spread to this, with their selection, and the reasons for their selection.

While England’s players are heading to Italy, Ipswich Town’s players are heading to Hungary to appear in a film called Escape To Victory

In other news, Billy Humphries was considering making a comeback for Ards at the age of 42, while Aston Villa were keen on signing Mick Ferguson from Coventry.

In letters, Stephen Cochrane from Hartlepool writes in to suggest his local side will be a top flight club by 1987.

Scotland are also in international action, and Derek Johnstone uses his column to write about his hopes for an international. With Scotland not going to the European Championship, he can’t resist a dig at England by writing that this is how they must have felt sitting at home watching Scotland at the 1974 and 1978 World Cups.

Shoot interviews Manchester born pop star Andy Gibb about his love of Manchester United, saying that George Best was his hero. He supports United, but wants City to do well. In the interview, he says he doesn’t get to Old Trafford often, but visits Vicarage Road to see his local team Watford.

Gibb also reveals he has football matches in his local park with his three elder brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin (That’s the Bee Gees, by the way) who he describes as “Soccer mad”, which are videotaped, then they watch back when they get home.

West Germany captain Bernard Dietz gets a double page interview, where he states that England can win the competition. They were eliminated in the group stage while West Germany won the competition.

A possible future domestic opponent of Bernard Dietz is Liverpool midfielder Terry McDermott, who tells Shoot he is considering a move to a West German club.

Terry Venables uses his column to declare that players who do cynical fouls will never prosper in football.

As part of their build-up to Euro 80, Shoot looks at previous European Championships. This week, they look back at Euro 72.

In ads, Admiral take out a full page for their England kit and tracksuit range. One of the tracksuits is modelled by Trevor Francis. It’s unknown if it was purchased in Shepherd’s Bush.

Alan Hansen gets a full page profile where he reveals his favourite music is Billy Joel, and The Commodores, while his favourite other team is Manchester United.

In transfer news, Aston Villa manager Ron Saunders was fuming after Everton hijacked their bid to sign Dumbarton’s striker Graeme Sharp after they had agreed a fee with the Scottish club.

Shoot does a feature on Grimsby winger Mike Brolly, complete with a picture of him holding a brolly.

In other ads, there is an advert for a free Euro 80 sticker album, but not in Shoot, in two other publications – Roy Of The Rovers, and Tiger.

There is a poster of Celtic players and manager Billy McNeill celebrating winning the 1980 league title. They would soon look stupid as it was Aberdeen who claimed the trophy that season.

In international news, Bobby Robson is wanted by Barcelona to be their new manager. It would eventually take him 16 years to get the job. Meanwhile, one Spanish newspaper had a leftfield candidate for the post, Ian Paisley. It was a printing error as they got him confused with Liverpool manager Bob Paisley.

Andy Gray uses his column to suggest that there should be full-time referees in football.

The magazine ends on the back page with a poster of John Toshack in his Wales kit.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 15.9.1979

The 1970s are almost over, but the focus is already on the first international tournament of the 1980s, Euro 80 in Italy, as Kevin Keegan, in action for England against Denmark, is the cover star of Shoot, ahead of the return qualifier between the two at Wembley.

England manager Ron Greenwood vows his side will attack Denmark, complimenting the Danes as England’s main rivals for qualification (only the group winners went to Italy), a point echoed by Northern Ireland manager Danny Blanchflower, whose side were also in the group.

Trevor Brooking was also wary of Denmark, stating that “Denmark’s breaks and power shooting a worry”

Newly appointed Denmark manager Sepp Piontek is interviewed for the game, stating that Denmark are aiming to use these qualifiers to boost their ranking for the 1982 World Cup Qualifiers, stating that Kevin Keegan was “World Class”, that he had a lot of knowledge of the England team, especially the two West Germany based players, Kevin Keegan and David Watson.

England won the match 1-0 and qualified for Euro 1980, going out in the group stage, while Denmark finished bottom of their qualifying group.

Denmark would have their revenge four years later when they would qualify for Euro 84 at the expense of England.

England were the only home nation in competitive action as Scotland and Wales had friendlies.

Scotland faced Peru, a side who had beaten them 3-1 in the previous year’s World Cup. Teofilio Cubillas, Peru’s talisman predicts a win for Scotland, as Peru had declined since the previous summer. Cubillas wasn’t able to confirm if he would be appearing at Hampden Park due to commitments with his club Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Wales were in action in a friendly against Republic Of Ireland at Vetch Field, only the second meeting between the two sides, with Wales buoyed by Robbie James and Peter Nicholas scoring their first international goals that summer. Wales won the game 2-1.

Viv Anderson, now a columnist for Shoot, talks about the secret of Nottingham Forest’s success, having just been crowned European Champions. The secret, was Brian Clough’s man management. We probably knew that anyway.

In ads, there is an advert for a new football magazine called Top Soccer, with the headline “At last! Super NEW mag for young soccer fans” with Kevin Keegan on the cover of the first edition.

There is literally nothing about this magazine online, but i’d presume it was an IPC publication, seeing as it had been given an advertising platform in Shoot.

There was a free pull-out in this edition of Shoot, part of a series called “The Captains”, profiling captains of clubs in England and Scotland.

In letters, Ray Wilkins recent transfer to Manchester United has divided opinion, with Joseph Stanger wishing him good luck at Old Trafford, while David Ash from Catford expresses his disappointment that he didn’t stay to help Chelsea get promoted to Division One, pointing out that Trevor Brooking’s England career hasn’t suffered as a result of playing in the Second Tier.

Gregory Watts from Winkworth wants football matches extended to 120 minutes, while William Cook from Hoylake bemoans the fact that Liverpool have had their shirts sponsored by Hitachi.

Shoot give a double page spread to Rodney March’s retirement and the uncertainty as to where George Best’s next club will be.

Brighton, newly promoted to Division One get a club profile, where club Chairman Mike Bamber is dreaming of European football coming to Sussex.

Despite having made improvements to the Goldstone Ground, Bamber is planning to move the club away from the Goldstone Ground to a new stadium at a site in Waterhall at an estimated cost of £7m

It took 32 years for Brighton to get a new stadium, in Falmer, after a spell at an athletics stadium in Withdean, and a 2 year exile in Gillingham.

In international news, Shoot catches up with Lawrie Cunningham, recently signed for Real Madrid who face Valencia in their opening game. It was Valencia who face West Bromwich Albion in Europe the previous season , where Cunningham caught the eye of Real Madrid.

Meanwhile in Brazil, Garrincha has recently had a spell in hospital with health problems.

In Hertfordshire, Graham Taylor is trying to manage expectations of Watford, newly promoted to Division Two, after successive promotions, and the presence of a pop star chairman, in the shape of Elton John.

Panini took out an advert to announce that Football 1980 stickers would be given away by Shoot in January.

Danny McGrain writes that Celtic are going into the unknown ahead of their European Cup tie against Tirana. McGrain also argues that managers should have a transfer fee, following a rejected approach by Athletic Bilbao for Ipswich manager Bobby Robson.

On the back cover, was a team photo of Burnley.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 14.7.1979

Match action from England’s recent visit to Sweden is the cover of Shoot, as they try to fill in the gap during the pre-season of 1979.

In news, Brian Clough has drawn praise from pundits in the Soviet Union after Nottingham Forest’s European Cup win, and Northern Ireland have announced a tour of Australia for the summer of 1980.

Pierce O’Leary of Shamrock Rovers was linked with a move to Coventry City, potentially, the first League Of Ireland player to move to an English club for a six figure fee. Staying in Dublin, Pele was a surprise visitor to Dublin for the friendly between Republic of Ireland and Argentina.

Distillery were facing expulsion from the Irish League if they couldn’t have a new ground by the start of the 1980-1981 season.

And finally, Coventry City became the first Football League team to visit the Faroe Islands, beating a local team 6-0.

The volume of British players in the US meant the NASL got a page of coverage, the lead story being that George Best had went missing for a week.

Gordon McQueen, writing a column, expresses his concern that the games between England and Scotland could be banned due to crowd violence, expressing his anger at a Scottish fan who invaded the pitch with his side 1-0 up, causing a delay. England went on to win the game 3-1.

McQueen also spoke about an 18 year old called Diego Maradona, who faced Scotland and was described by McQueen as “Another Pele in the making”, but was disappointed at the lack of TV coverage of the game, due to a dispute with the BBC.

In letters, a Shrewsbury Town fan complains about the lack of acknowledgement given to boss Graham Turner for his success at the club. A reader from Perth wrote in to complain about the BBC being biased towards Rangers.

A young manager starting out in the game is 32 year old Howard Kendall, and his appointment at Blackburn Rovers gets 2/3 of a page coverage.

RC Strasbourg get a full page profile, with a team poster on the other side.

To fill up space with no football, we get a full page of footballers on holiday, including a picture of Phil Neal throwing Phil Thompson into a swimming pool.

Part 8 of Shoot’s review of the 1978-1979 season reveals that Barcelona want Bobby Robson to be their manager. It only took 17 years for them to get him.

Derek Johnstone’s Scottish football column is accompanied by a picture of him playing video games with his wife.

Wigan Athletic, having just completed their first season as a league club, feature in an article asking if they will “Do a Wimbledon” – Wimbledon (promoted to the Football League in 1977) got promoted in their second season.

Wigan did indeed “Do a Wimbledon” in terms that they reached the top flight (in 27 years compared to Wimbledon’s 9) and won the FA Cup (took them 35 years compared to Wimbledon’s 11)