MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 21.11.1998

This week, Match has an exclusive interview with Pierre Van Hooijdonk, labelled “Britain’s most dangerous footballer” after going on strike at Nottingham Forest due to a dispute.

Leeds United players go to a computer class as part of a community project, while Alexi Lalas has released an album called Ginger.

Dwight Yorke drew a crowd in Dublin as he paid a visit to sign autographs for fans.

Elsewhere in news, Eric Hall has brought out his autobiography, while Frank Lampard described abuse from his own fans when he broke into the team at 17 as character building.

Van Hooijdonk’s interview sees him deny reports of a rift with Forest team-mates, and claim Forest priced him out of a move to a club outside England.

John Robinson of Charlton is this week’s subject of Job Swap, where he reveals if he could be a Football Legend, he would be Kenny Dalglish, and if he was a Pop Star, R Kelly.

Another Dutch player getting interviewed in this edition if Jaap Stam of Manchester United.

There is a double page interview with Hearts duo Paul Ritchie and Gary Naysmith, who say that Hearts are noe considered a big scalp for rival clubs, as much as Rangers and Celtic.

Match goes behind the scenes with Ian Wright as he prepares for his acting debut, staring in an advert for Chicken Tonight.

David Batty gets interviewed where he says he wants to revive Newcastle’s season. Within weeks, he had rejoined Leeds United.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : FOUR FOUR TWO – OCTOBER 2004

Various stars from Barcelona are the cover stars of this edition of Four Four Two, as the club are at the beginning of a revival after a few lean years at the start of the century.

Steve McManaman is the subject of this Month’s Cash For Questions, where he urges Wayne Rooney to stay at Everton, and reveals his first footballing hero was Bob Latchford.

Brian Clough uses his column to suggest that Trevor Brooking should replace Sven Goran-Eriksson after a sex scandal involving the Swede. Clough died before this magazine hit the shelves.

Lloyd Dyer of West Brom and Alan Blayney of Southampton are the subject’s of this month’s The Boy’s A Bit Special. Blayney reveals he doesn’t share Antti Niemi’s love of Metallica and Iron Maiden.

Robbie Savage uses his column to talk about his excitement about the forthcoming World Cup Qualifier between England and Wales at Old Trafford. It would be a match he wouldn’t take part in as he was suspended after his red card against Northern Ireland the previous month. He never played for Wales again.

Lawrie McMenemy is subject to a Q and A where he reveals that he’s not much of a drinker.

New Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is also subject to a Q and A, where he reveals that Arsenal were interested in signing him in 2002. Eventually, in 2015, he would sign for Arsenal.

Cover stars Barcelona get 15 pages of coverage, as they return to the Champions League after a season in the UEFA Cup, after a turbulent period at the start of the century. That month, they would give a debut to an unknown teenager called Lionel Messi.

There are three pages dedicated to a round table discussion between fans of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland ahead of the 2006 World Cup Qualifiers, where England, Wales and Northern Ireland were all the the same group.

Gilberto Silva of Arsenal reveals a dark secret to Four Four Two ……… he plays the Mandolin.

Pete Winkleman is interviewed as MK Dons begin their first season in Milton Keynes, having stolen Wimbledon’s place in the Football League.

Elswhere in the Football League, there is a full page feature on Nick Barmby, as he has signed for his local club Hull City.

In Scotland, there is turmoil at Hearts as the club plans to sell Tynecastle and play home games at Murrayfield.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : WHEN SATURDAY COMES – JULY 2012

England are at the European Championship, with Ashley Young on the cover of When Saturday Comes confidently predicting that England will do better than they did at Euro 2008.

He has good reason for his optimism, as England failed to reach Euro 2008.

There is a review of the recent Scottish Cup Final, where Hearts beat Hibs 5-1, including a feature on 102 year old Hibs fan Sam Martinez, who says he hopes to see Hibs win the Scottish Cup before he dies, with their drought now at 111 years.

In Northern Ireland, Linfield won their sixth double in seven years, to some apathy from fans, with one fan arguing that history will be a lot kinder to David Jeffrey in the future than it is now.

To cover the full length of the UK, we then move to Wales, where Cardiff City fans are upset at an attempt to rebrand the club, including a change of colours by Vincent Tan.

At Aston Villa, there is an article on the future of manager Alex McLeish, whose time was believed to up when he celebrated a draw at home to Stoke.

Match Of The Month is the Championship Play-Off Final between Blackpool and West Ham, two clubs aiming to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

There is also review of the season in all three divisions of the Football League.

On the continent, Serbia’s Cup Final was held outside Belgrade and ended up in a riot, while Auxerre have been relegated from France’s top flight.

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON: JUNE/JULY

For me, the 2017-2018 football season began at Maine Road in the 1950s. I know what you’re thinking. Did I build a time machine?

Not quite. The Oval was being used to film scenes for a film about Bert Trautmann, and I went down to have a look at it being dressed up as Maine Road.

I then reverted back to the present day, to see Linfield take on La Fiorita in the European Cup.

The football became less competitive, as I ventured to Windsor Park to see Linfield take on Hearts in a friendly.

The following Friday, it was back to the European Cup for Linfield, but more Scottish opposition in the shape of Celtic.

Maine Oval

Maine Oval Photo Album

Linfield v La Fiorita

Linfield v Hearts

Linfield v Celtic

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT 29.3.1986

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.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 19.10.1991

Bryan Robson, in action against Notts County, is the cover star, with the headline “Robbo’s Back”, as he is interviewed in this edition.

As you open the magazine, there is a double page feature on Wales European Championship Qualifier in Germany, where Wales need a draw to virtually qualify for the finals in Sweden.

Jimmy Greaves assesses the two teams and predicts a win for Germany, and so it proved, with Germany winning 4-1.

Bryan Robson’s interview is part of Shoot’s preview of England’s European Championship Qualifier against Turkey. Turkey had been good opponents for Robson, with 5 goals in his 3 previous appearances against them.

England’s previous game against Turkey saw Robson left out of the squad, and he thought his international career was over at the age of 34, but his recent form for Manchester United saw him earn a recall.

As it turned out, the game against Turkey was Robson’s last cap for England.

Another player making an England comeback was Stuart Pearce, who explains that he was left out of the squad for the recent friendly against Germany as he was serving a domestic suspension.

Elsewhere in the group, Republic Of Ireland face a crunch game in Poland, and Shoot interviews Mick McCarthy in preparation of this.

In news, Charlie Nicholas had all his medals stolen after a burglary at his house, while Celtic have had a bid rejected for Terry Phelan, while Chelsea are planning a move to sign Matt Le Tissier.

Also in Scotland, John Robertson of Hearts gets a double page interview where he says that Hearts are determined to bounce back after defeat against Celtic, their first of the season. Robertson also gives Shoot the lowdown on his Hearts team-mates.

Peter Ndlovu of Coventry City gets interviewed s he adjusts to life in England, telling Shoot that he mostly listens to the radio and watched TV.

Also adjusting to life in a new country is David Platt, who tells Shoot he is enjoying life in Italy, despite Bari not winning a game and their manager resigning.

Talking of English players in Italy, former AC Milan striker Mark Hately rubbishes former Bari striker Paul Rideout’s claim that no English striker has come back from Italy a better player.

I wonder did they discuss the matter a few months later in the dressing room when Rideout signed for Rangers?

Talking of Rangers, a reader writes to Jimmy Greaves to say that Rangers will continue to be minnows on a European stage due to a lack of competition in Scotland, while another reader asks about the possibility of Leeds winning the league, and Greaves says they need Lee Chapman to start scoring in order for that to happen.

In competitions, you could win a pair of Quaser boots, and get to meet Gary Lineker, Matt Le Tisser or Charlie Nicholas at one of their respective team’s home games.

Tony Cottee gets a profile, revealing that if he wasn’t a footballer, he would be a Fireman, or work for his dad as an Insurance Broker.

In ads, there was an advert for a teen mag called Look-In (possibly an IPC publication, I can’t verify) which had Rik Mayall as it’s cover star, talking about his role in Drop Dead Fred.

Alongside that, is an advert for the following week’s edition of Shoot, which comes with free Pro Set cards.

The magazine ends with a double page feature on Scotland’s European Championship Qualifier in Bucharest where a win would virtually guarantee qualification to the finals.

They lost, but other results went their way which meant they made it to Sweden.

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.

2017 IN PICTURES – JULY

My first photo adventure of July was to Windsor Park, for a bit of pre-season action, as Linfield took on Hearts in a friendly.

The following day, I ventured to Red Barn Gallery to get photos of some Street Art which appeared on it’s exterior.

A few days later, it was back to Windsor Park for a Friday teatime kick-off between Linfield and Celtic.

Like the previous weekend, it was all about Football and Street Art, as I headed to Belfast Peace Wall for my biannual photo blog

The month for me ended with a trip to Dublin, where I got some Street Art photos from in and around the City Centre.

Linfield v Hearts

Rosemary Street Art

Rosemary Street Art Photo Album

Linfield v Celtic

Belfast Peace Wall Art

Belfst Peace Wall Art Photo Album

Dublin Street Art

Dublin Street Art Photo Album

LINFIELD 1-4 HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN 8.7.2017

2017 has been a year for Scottish visitors coming to Windsor Park, with Ice Hockey and Rugby fans having already taking in some football this year while following their respective teams in Belfast, as Linfield welcomed the first of two Scottish visitors to Windsor Park this week.

With Hearts visiting Windsor Park today, it gave Celtic scouts the opportunity to look at two upcoming opponents, with Hearts set to visit Celtic on the opening day of the season in a few weeks time.

Tartan visitors to Windsor Park won’t end on Friday, with Linfield set to be given a home tie when they enter the Scottish Challenge Cup in September.

I don’t usually bother with home friendlies, but three Northern Ireland players in the Hearts side made this match a bit more appealing, as fans at Windsor Park were treated to the sight of Kyle Lafferty in club action, a rare sight over the past three years.

For Hearts, it was the second game in a short tour of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, having lost 1-0 to St Patrick’s Athletic on Wednesday.

If you were a Hearts fan travelling over for the two games, the trip presented some great groundhopping opportunities.

You could have flown into Dublin on Wednesday, gone to your side’s match against St PAtrick’s Athletic, and then stayed in Dublin, taking in Shamrock Rovers v Stjarnan on Thursday, and then gone to either Cabinteely or UCD’s home match on Friday, before travelling up to Belfast for this one.

I did hear one Hearts fan on my way in saying he was at a Second Division game (I couldn’t work out which game he went to) but he did describe it as “Absolute fucking murder”

There wasn’t a dramatic change to Linfield’s team but there were starting opportunities for Andrew Mitchell, Jordan Stewart, Robert Garrett and Kirk Millar, as Linfield prepared for the game against Celtic in a 4-5-1 (4-3-3 when attacking) formation.

The absence of Jimmy Callacher, rested in the two games against La Fiorita due to injury concerns, suggests that he is still a doubt for the Celtic game.

Hearts made a good start to the game, with Kyle Lafferty missing a glorious opportunity after an attack started by a misplaced Robert Garrett pass, when his shot hit the sidenetting when he should have scored. The Windsor Park crowd weren’t as sympathetic as they would have been if he was wearing the green of Northern Ireland.

Jamie Walker had a shot go wide during this early spell of pressure.

It was Linfield who took the lead when a poor defensive header was seized on by Jamie Mulgrew, who fired home from the edge of the box.

On 26 minutes, Hearts equalised when a shot from outside the box from Harry Cochrane beat Roy Carroll.

As half-time approached, a header from Jamie Walker put Hearts 2-1 up, a lead they took into the break.

Linfield made a good start to the second-half, having a lot of pressure on Hearts goal, getting a lot of joy down their right and forcing Hearts defenders into blocks and clearances.

Linfield almost equalised by accident when a Paul Smyth cross almost went straight in, with Hearts keeper being forced into an acrobatic save at the expense of a corner.

Against the run of play, Esmael Goncalves was able to hold off his man and get enough space to make it 3-1 and secure the win for Hearts.

By this stage, Linfield had utilised their bench, giving much needed game time to players who didn’t play against La Fiorita.

Most pleasing was the appearance of Paul Smyth, who went off injured in San Marino.

A free-kick hit the wall but fell perfectly for Cole Stockton to finish from close range to give Hearts a flattering 4-1 lead.

Regular readers will know I go to Edinburgh every August and try to take in as many games as possible.

I won’t be at Tynecastle with Hearts playing their opening games away from home due to a new Main Stand being built.

The old Main Stand was the only stand at Tynecastle I haven’t been in. Hopefully, when I do go to Tynecastle again, i’ll take in a match in the new stand.

The matches while i’m there are Hibs v Partick and Edinburgh City v Montrose.

I was hoping Sky or BT would help me out and enable me to see two matches, but i’ve got a choice to make. At the moment, i’m leaning towards Edinburgh City as it will give me a new ground to visit.

The rearrangement of the Linfield v Celtic match meant I had to cancel my day trip to Dublin. Thankfully, my hotel has accommodated me changing to 28th July.

I’ll be doing the usual Street Art and Football combo, and the match i’m planning to go to is UCD v Cabinteely, meaning that the only Dublin ground I haven’t been to is Cabinteely’s.

And now, to Celtic.

Linfield were competitive today and held their own, despite the score.

Being competitive against Hearts and being competitive against Celtic are two totally different things.

It will be a challenge, and we’ll have to rise it.

However, Linfield had to rise to a challenge just to be in this season’s European Cup.

Photo Album

Hearts v Aberdeen 2011

Hearts v Tottenham Hotspur 2011

Hibs v Hearts 2012

Hearts v Hibs 2014

Hearts v Partick Thistle 2015

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 1.3.1986

Celtic and Manchester United are on the cover of this week’s edition of Shoot as they prepare to face each other in a mid-season friendly, with the headline “Soccer on trial”.

The headline refers to the fact that it was the first high profile away game by an English club since the previous season’s European Cup Final, which resulted in English clubs being banned from Europe.

As you open the magazine, Danny Wallace fires a message to John Barnes and Chris Waddle that he is after their World Cup place following an impressive England debut in a recent friendly away to Egypt.

The friendly at Parkhead that featured on the cover gets a double page spread, with the game billed as an unofficial British Cup Winners Cup Final, after both teams won their respective national cup competitions in 1985.

Paul McStay of Celtic suggests that a former Rangers player might have a keen interest in this game, as Scotland manager Alex Ferguson might take the opportunity to spy on Jesper Olsen of United, with Denmark being a group opponent of Scotland in the forthcoming World Cup.

In ads, you can buy The Official FA Cup Game for just £7.75 on Spectrum, Commodore or Armstrad.

Talking of adverts, England’s squad has agreed a sponsorship deal with the Health Education Council to front an anti-smoking campaign.

Bryan Robson uses his column to praise Peter Beardsley, who recently made his international debut during that recent friendly in Egypt.

Northern Ireland are also in international action, with an away friendly against France, with the game getting a double page feature, with John McClelland being interviewed.

Shoot looks at the options for Scotland’s squad, and they urge Alex Ferguson to find a place for Pat Nevin in the 22.

Staying in Scotland, Hibs youngster Gordon Hunter gets praised by his manager John Blackley.

Phil Thompson is interviewed, where he states that if he could lead Sheffield United into the top flight, it would be as big a thrill as all the trophies he won with Liverpool.

Across Sheffield, Wednesday striker Carl Shutt gets a full page profile.

Jimmy Greaves awards his Wally Of The Week Award to Nick Gregory from Banbury, who states that Oxford United are the best team in England.

In Spain, Terry Venables is eyeing up a move to Tottenham Hotspur, but he could be replaced at Barcelona by another British manager, John Toshack of Real Sociedad.

Andy King is interviewed where he expresses his frustration at not getting much action at Luton Town.

Jack Charlton, newly appointed Republic Of Ireland manager, has a big decision to make, as he might have to drop 30 year olds Liam Brady, Frank Stapleton and Tony Grealish.

Charlton has faced some resentment for his appointment due to not being Irish, but also shock that he got the job ahead of Bob Paisley.

Much loved referee Clive Thomas comments on the number of penalties missed in recent years, pointing the finger at his fellow referees for allowing keepers to steal yards.

Craig Levein of Hearts gets a profile as he dreams of a World Cup place, just a few years after almost quitting football to work in an Electronics Factory.

The upcoming Merseyside Derby gets a double page feature, with contributions from Peter Reid and Steve McMahon.

The magazine ends with a profile of Mike Channon. His favourite music is Paul McCartney, Elton John and Rod Stewart.