MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 22.7.1989

Mo Johnston is the cover star of Match as Match asks how good he is.

This was prompted by a claim by Rangers manager Graeme Souness that Johnston was the best striker in Britain, so Match organised a poll to end the arguement once and for all.

Match also revealed that Johnston predicted in 1982 that one day he would sign for Rangers.

Another big summer signing was Chris Waddle of Marseille, who tells Match that money wasn’t a factor in his move.

Also moving to the Continent was Alan McInally, who hopes his move to Bayern Munich will earn him a place in Scotland’s squad for the 1990 World Cup if they qualify.

Match looks at the race for promotion to Division One, asking players from clubs promoted in 1989 (Chelsea, Manchester City, Crystal Palace) who they think will go up in 1990, the general consensus being Leeds.

Some footballers are without a club, and Match writes about those top flight players looking for a club.

If they end up at another top flight club, you’ll know how much it will cost to watch them, as Match does a chart of admission prices at Division One clubs, apart from Southampton and Liverpool, who didn’t provide information.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : FOOTBALL EUROPE – APRIL 1999

Michael Owen of Liverpool is the cover star of Football Europe as the 1998-1999 season enters it’s final weeks.

There are potentially big changes in Europe coming up, with club football now taking place from February to November across Europe, while the Spanish FA has suggested that cup winners get a place in the expanded Champions League.

In France, Bernard Lama has called for unity in PSGs squad, as the club are battling against relegation.

Benfica get a double page profile as they continue to struggle under new manager Graeme Souness.

Also getting a double page profile is Marcelo Salas, who is riding on the crest of a wave after a successful World Cup and a big money move to Lazio.

There is a feature on both Madrid clubs, title Mayhem in Madrid, as both Real and Atletico have been trigger happy firing managers.

The clubs making up what is known as G14 are profiled, as well as predictions for their future.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 16.4.1988

Terry Butcher is the cover star of Shoot as he makes a timely return from injury, with Euro 88 just around the corner.

As you open the magazine, Adrian Heath tells Shoot of his dismay at being singled out as a scapegoat by Everton fans when things don’t go well.

Cover star Butcher uses his column to declare he was back from injury, and that if he came through Rangers match against Hibs unscathed, he will be aiming for an England recall for the friendly in Hungary.

Butcher also defends his manager at Rangers, Graeme Souness, who has faced press criticism for a tackle he made in a European Cup tie against Steau Bucharest.

The Football League celebrates it’s centenary with a 16 team tournament at Wembley decided by the highest scorers in each four divisions. This competitions gets a four page profile.

In sponsorship news, England have signed a deal with Trebor Extra Strong Mints.

Bobby Barrett and his brother Lee get a full page feature as the lucky winners of a competition to travel to Turin to meet Ian Rush, and then see him in action for Juventus against Pisa.

In foreign news, Jean-Marie Pfaff is in dispute with Bayern Munich after they blocked him moving to Manchester United.

Another player in contract dispute, but possibly leaving rather than joining Manchester United is Norman Whiteside. Bryan Robson uses his column to say that such a departure would be a loss to United, amid rumours that Juventus want to sign him in a swap deal for Ian Rush.

St Mirren manager Alex Smith hits back at those who say the Scottish Cup holders are in crisis, by saying they will be back stronger than before.

With Euro 88 on the horizon, Shoot does a four page profile of Republic Of Ireland, with David Kelly warning John Aldridge and Niall Quinn that he is planning to keep them out of the side after a hat-trick on his debut against Israel.

Trevor Francis tells Shoot that he is not finished, at the age of 34, have left one Rangers (the Glasgow one) for another (the West London one) due a lack of games.

Despite being in the Second Division, Manchester City manager Mel Machin predicts his side will become the Liverpool of the 1990s. City’s main star is Paul Stewart, who says he gets embarrassed at being described as a million pound player.

A player worth a quarter of that is Leroy Rosenior, newly signed by West Ham, and off to a goalscoring start, gives an interview to Shoot.

Also off to a goalscoring start is Brian McClair at Manchester United, set to be the first United player in 20 years to score 20 league goals, but tells Shoot that he doesn’t consider himself to be a goalscorer.

The magazine ends with a full page on PFA Award winners John Barnes and Paul Gascoigne.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 21.5.1977

David O’Leary is one of the cover stars as the 1976-1977 nears it’s finale.

Jack Charlton (Middlesbrough) and Johnny Giles (West Bromwich Albion) get a double page feature, as the two former Leeds players have left managerial positions in recent weeks.

Ray Kennedy gets a full page profile, as he aims to make English football history, aiming to become the first player to win the double twice, having been a part of Arsenal’s 1971 double winning team.

With Liverpool losing to Manchester United in that year’s FA Cup Final, the feat wasn’t achieve until various Manchester United players did it in 1996, with some more doing it in 1999 (Peter Schmeichel, Denis Irwin, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs winning it three times)

Ashley Cole and Nicholas Anelka are the only players to win the double with two different clubs, after Kennedy was denied this achievement.

Shoot does a double page spread, offering Martin Peters, Pat Rice and Howard Kendall an opportunity to reflect on the season, and why their respective sides didn’t win a trophy.

Gerry Francis uses his column to suggest that anybody wanting to be a manager in England should get the relevant coaching and management qualifications, similar to the structure in West Germany.

In news, Arsenal manager Terry Neill has denied a story in Shoot that Frank Stapleton and Liam Brady are on their way to Liverpool. Middlesbrough midfielder Graeme Souness is unsettled at Ayresome Park

St Mirren manager Alex Ferguson has been fined £25 for comments to the referee after his side were eliminated from the Scottish Cup by Motherwell.

Aston Villa goalkeeper John Burridge gets a full page profile about facing penalties.

In the centre pages, there is a poster of the Aston Villa team, including the League Cup, which they won in 1977.

John Greig uses his column to explain why Rangers didn’t win the league.

Sheffield Wednesday’s teenage goalkeeper Chris Turner gets interviewed, having broke into the team and become a regular of the team he supported growing up.

In world news, Idi Amin is described as “The Generous General”, having rewarded the national team with a free holiday in Libya as a reward for winning the East African Challenge Cup.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 25.12.1982

It’s Christmas 1982 and Match celebrates with a cover image of a sketch of various football stars such as Gordon Strachan, Graeme Souness, Steve Coppell and Paul Mariner.

There’s not much Christmas cheer for the FA, as they come in for criticism for arranging a full top flight fixture list just four days before a European Championship Qualifier.

A series of top flight stars are asked for their Christmas wishes, with Lou Macari wish he could spend Christmas Day with either Russ Abbot or Benny Hill.

Graeme Souness uses his column to state that Scotland haven’t given up on qualifying for Euro 84 despite a poor start which means they have to win the remainder of their games to have a chance of qualifying.

John Gregory of QPR is this “Focus On …” subject, claiming that The Jam, Robert Palmer and Japan is his favourite music.

Moving from Scotland to England, as Graham Rix uses his column to state that he has a battle for his England place after missing out on the recent 9-0 win over Luxembourg.

David Cross has only one wish for Christmas, three points from Manchester City’s visit to Anfield, something that City managed the previous season when they won 3-1 at Anfield.

As well as sketching the front cover, Steve McGarry can be found again near the end of the magazine sketching Murdo MacLeod’s winner for Celtic against Rangers in the recent Scottish League Cup Final.

The magazine can’t end without another rant about the scheduling of England’s match against Luxembourg, this time Tony Morley of Aston Villa who had to miss the game as he was playing for Villa in the World Club Cup Final in Japan the weekend before.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 5.8.1989

Paul McGrath, in action for Republic Of Ireland, is the cover star, as Match leads with the headline “FORCED OUT!”, with McGrath having just left Manchester United for Aston Villa.

As you open the magazine, there is an interview with McGrath, who tells Match that Manchester United’s search for a Central Defender left him with no option but to sign for Aston Villa, almost a year after a move to Tottenham Hotspur broke down.

When you turn over the page, there is an interview with Norman Whiteside, who feels his move to Goodison Park will help his ambition of winning a league title.

With a new season about to start in Scotland, Mo Johnston tells Match he wants to win over the Rangers fans, having previously played for Celtic, adding that he is confident of Rangers making an impression in the European Cup, despite being drawn against Bayern Munich in the group stages.

Staying in Scotland, Hibs goalkeeper Andy Goram has received a dressing down for leaving Hibs pre-season training to play international Cricket for Scotland.

Arsenal will be playing Independiente in a friendly in Miami, which will be broadcast live on ITV that weekend.

Another English club on tour in 1989 were Ipswich Town, becoming the first English club to tour the Soviet Union.

Division Four gets previewed, with both Ian Muir of Tranmere and Tony Grealish of Rotherham expecting Scunthorpe United to win the division in 1990. They finished 11th.

In ads, John Barnes and Graeme Souness were advertising Diadora, while Jennifer Saunders was advertising Nat West.

Match’s cut out A-Z Fixture Lists for English clubs this week cover P to S

Mick Quinn has just signed for Newcastle, but tells Match of his frustration at being priced out of a move to a top flight club due to Portsmouth’s valuation of him.

Neil Webb advertises Nike, and Chris Waddle tells Match he is enjoying life at Marseille.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 28.2.1987

Dundee United take on Barcelona in the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Cup, and this is reflected on the cover of Match, with both sides represented.

There is a double page profile of the game, as well as a list of all the Quarter-Final games in the three competitions across Europe.

Alan McDonald answers questions from readers about plastic pitches, as his club QPR plays on one.

Another big debate is Play-Offs, introduced in 1987, with Match interviewing players and managers from clubs who could be affected on what they think of the idea.

Colin West gets a full page to tell Match he intends on staying at Rangers, while there is a full page profile of Manchester United player Nicky Wood, while Norwich City and Nottingham Forest get club profiles.

In Scotland, Graeme Souness isn’t coming out of international retirement. Also not playing for Scotland is Australian born Craig Johnston, who turned down the opportunity to play for Scotland.

Staying in Scotland, there is a full page profile of new Celtic signing Anton Rogan, who says he enjoys living in Glasgow more than living in Belfast.

As the season enters it’s final stages, Match gives it’s predictions for how the season will end, revised from their prediction in August.

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 – 19.5.1984

It’s the FA Cup Final, as Everton and Watford take centre stage on this week’s copy of Match.

There is fighting talk from both teams. Peter Reid states that there is no way Watford will score against Neville Southall, while Mo Johnston is determined to win the cup for suspended captain Wilf Rostrun, and let him lead out the team at Wembley in the following season’s Charity Shield.

Chelsea get a double page feature, having just been promoted to the top flight of English football after an absence of five years.

In foreign news, Juventus have been rocked by the news that Claudio Gentile might be leaving the club in the summer.

Staying in Italy, Luther Blissett of AC Milan tells Match how delighted he is to have been recalled to the England squad.

In preparation of that summer’s European Championship, Match is previewing the teams, with Romania, written down as “Rumania” being this week’s subject.

Graeme Souness uses his column to preview the FA Cup Final, declaring that he can’t see Everton losing.

Andy Gray and George Reilly are profiled, with Gray revealing his favourite singer is Rod Stewart, and that his personal ambition is to have an uneventful private life.

George Reilly’s favourite pop star is Bryan Ferry.

Mark Hughes gets profiled, having broken into Manchester United’s first team this season, revealing that he thought he would have to leave United in order to advance his career.

A team-mate of Hughes in the future will be Gordon Strachan, who is set to join United from Aberdeen, with his last game for the club being the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic, a game Aberdeen will lose according to Hibs goalkeeper Alan Rough, previewing the game for Match.

It had been suggested that Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson has been mellowing, but he told Match that his wife had told him to behave himself.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 10.5.1986

The 1985-1986 season is nearing it’s end, and Malcolm Shotton of Oxford United is the cover star of Shoot, with the club having won their first major piece of silverware, the League Cup, after a 3-0 win over QPR.

Mark Hughes talks about his transfer from Manchester United to Barcelona, admitting that he should have done what Kevin Keegan did when leaving Liverpool, announce his plans to leave at the start of the season, as the protracted move turned out to be a distraction.

Hughes signed an 8 year contract with Barcelona, and he says this will be his only club on the continent. As it turned out, he did emulate Kevin Keegan, by playing in Germany, joining Bayern Munich on loan, before returning to Old Trafford in 1988. He never played for a club on the continent in the final 14 years of his career.

In adverts, there’s an advert for the following week’s edition, which has a free World Cup stickerbook, as well as previews of the FA and Scottish Cup Finals.

Bryan Robson uses his column to sing the praises of Paul McGrath, stating that he wishes he was English as he’d walk into their defence. He comments on his top 11 players of the season.

Shoot previews the three European Finals, singing the praises of Terry Venables, who Shoot believes is set to become Barcelona’s first European Cup winning manager, totally dismissing the chances of their opponents Steaua Bucharest.

Shoot does a double page photo collage of the recent League Cup Final, where Oxford beat QPR 3-0.

Peter Reid writes in his column that Everton have the grit to win the title.

Reid is also complimentary of West Ham, whose young defender George Parris gets profiled, described as “A new Billy Bonds”

Andy Goram, a recent debutant for Scotland, despite being born in England, tells Shoot he wants to join a club in Scotland.

Football in Sheffield gets a double page spread, as both clubs yo-yo between divisions, with Shoot pointing out that there hasn’t been a top flight Derby between United and Wednesday in 18 years.

Bruce Rioch gets interviewed after just being appointed manager of Middlesbrough, talking about what he has learnt from managers in his career, especially Tommy Docherty.

Iraq get a preview ahead of Mexico 86, with their style of play moulded by the influx of British managers in the Middle East in the late 70s, and the current Brazilian manager they have, Edu (not the ex Arsenal player), who is Zico’s brother.

Davie Cooper is interviewed, stating that the appointment of Graeme Souness as manager was a “Bombshell”, but is a top class appointment.

Dual nationality Vince Mennie of Dundee is interviewed, stating that he wants a call-up to the Scotland team, and turned down an Under 21 call-up for West Germany in order to achieve his dream.

Ron Saunders has responded to West Brom’s relegation by having a clear-out of his squad.

Staying in the West Midlands, Birmingham City manager John Bond has appealed to local businesses for help to secure funding to bring Trevor Francis back to St Andrews.

The magazine ends with a double page profile of Sandy Jardine, aiming to win the Scottish League and Scottish Cup with Hearts, 14 years after winning the 1972 European Cup Winners Cup with Rangers.