MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – JANUARY 1999

David Beckham is the cover star of Manchester United’s official magazine at the start of a year that would be memorable for both player and club.

The big news this month is that Peter Schmeichel has announced he will be leaving United at the end of the season, and won’t change his mind. There is also a look at possible replacements, a list of four which includes Edwin Van Der Sar, Fabian Barthez, Mark Bosnich and Richard Wright, all of whom would end up in Manchester at some point in their career.

Nicky Butt gets a four page profile after a frustrating 1998 which saw him lose his place for both club and country.

There is a look behind the current trend of Masters Football, where stars of yesteryear renew old rivalries.

Jaap Stam has taken over diary duties from Brian McClair since his move to Motherwell, and puts Edwin Van Der Sar’s name forward as a possible replacement for Peter Schmeichel.

Cover star Beckham gets a five page interview.

There is also a look back at matches in November 1998, a busy month which saw United play five times at Old Trafford.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – AUGUST 1999

Mark Bosnich is the cover star of Manchester United’s official magazine, declaring “I never really left” as he returns to the club after eight years at Aston Villa, to replace Peter Schmeichel.

In news, United have withdrawn from the FA Cup in the 1999/2000 season due to fixture congestion, described by chairman Martin Edwards as a “no-win situation”.

A fixture list for the forthcoming 1999-2000 season is included.

Meanwhile, United have launched their own internet provider for fans to take advantage of.

Mark Bosnich gets a six page interview as he looks back at his first spell at United and looks forward to his second spell at the club in an interview which includes Croatian proverbs.

United are still basking in the glory of winning the European Cup, and a whopping twenty-two pages are dedicated to the fans experiences of that night in Barcelona.

Former United manager Ron Atkinson gets three pages to compare United’s teams of 1994 and 1999, just giving the nod to the 1994 team.

Continuing the theme of looking back, the magazine has a Fans Forum where four supporters meet up to look back at the 1998-1999 season.

The magazine ends with a Q and A with Jaap Stam, who reveals he relived the final minutes of the game in Barcelona while on his end of season holidays.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – DECEMBER 1999

It’s the end of the 20th Century, and the last edition of the century from Manchester United’s official magazine sees Jaap Stam mocked up to look like a giant, crushing opposing strikers.

United are getting set to head to Japan to take on Palmieras in the Intercontinental Cup Final, and the Brazilian side gets a profile.

United have made a new signing this month – off the pitch, as George Best joins the magazine as a columnist and he gets introduced, as if he needed to be introduced.

Cover star Stam gets a five page profile, revealing he enjoyed making tackles as much as scoring goals.

There’s a Dutch theme to this magazine, as United’s back-up goalkeeper Raimond Van Der Gowu gets interviewed.

In his column, Sir Alex Ferguson talks about new signing Mark Bosnich, describing him as “The best keeper in the country”

Which lead nicely into an advert for the next edition, which will see Bosnich’s predecessor in United’s goal, Peter Schmeichel, being interviewed.

United are through to the Second Group Stage of the European Cup, and their three opponents – Fiorentina, Valencia and Bordeaux all get profiled.

The magazine ends with a quiz between David May and Steve McClaren, with McClaren winning by a score of 7-3.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : FOOTBALL EUROPE – NOVEMBER 1998

David Beckham is the cover star of Football Europe as 1998 nears it’s end, but the 1998/1999 season is already in full swing.

As you open the magazine, there is a double page review of how Euro 2000 Qualifying has gone so far. Most teams have played three games, and the picture as to who will go to Holland and Belgium is anything but clear.

Headliners getting profiled include Artur Jorge, who is returning to manage PSG, and Mark Bosnich, likely to leave Aston Villa, but to Roma, who were put off by some of his behaviour on the pitch. He ended up signing for Manchester Untied in the summer of 1999.

Jose Antonio Camacho is the new manager of Spain, and Football Europe looks at the first battle he must win, against the Spanish media.

Someone else who has the media on his back is Alessandro Del Piero, after a poor run of form, and he gets a double page profile.

There is six pages of coverage profiling the group stages of the European Cup so far.

That final would be played in Barcelona, having just been announced by UEFA.

UEFA were also in the news as they tried to avoid a European Super League by getting rid of the European Cup Winners Cup and expanding the group stages of the European Cup to 32 teams.

There is a look at the season so far in Germany, and the question is asked if anyone can stop Bayern Munich.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MANCHESTER UNITED – SEPTEMBER 1999

Teddy Sheringham dressed as a 1970s Medallion Man is the cover star of Manchester United’s official magazine, as he shows off the medals he won during United’s historic treble season.

In news, there is a report on United’s friendly against Omagh Town which United won 9-0. The game was arranged to raise funds for victims of the bomb in the town the previous year, while Andy Cole has launched a music career with the release of a single called Outstanding.

Cover star Sheringham gets a five page interview as he looks back on a change in fortune after a difficult first year at United which failed to bring a trophy and he got criticism from fans and press.

Mark Bosnich has rejoined United from Aston Villa, and there is a look back at his first spell at the club, and the formative years of his career.

United have just brought out a dark blue away kit, and there is a behind the scenes feature of the promotional campaign and photo shoot for the kit.

An advert for the kit appears a few pages later.

The recently knighted Sir Alex Ferguson uses his monthly column to declare himself an honourary Mancunian.

There is a review of United’s pre-season games, which includes a match against Australia.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : WHEN SATURDAY COMES – DECEMBER 2002

Having just broken into the Everton team, teenage sensation Wayne Rooney give an interview to When Saturday Comes. Well, sort of.

A blank speech bubble represents the fact that Everton manager David Moyes has blocked media requests to interview his young player.

The editorial focuses on racism in football, most notably at the European Championship Qualifier between Slovakia and England, but warns that football authorities in England need to address concerns closer to home.

There is a profile of former Belgium goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, now forging a new career as a Reality TV star in a Flemish version of The Osbournes.

There is a feature on four clubs at differing ends of the football pyramid who are looking to move out of their current ground to a new one – Wimbledon, Chelsea, York City and Brentford.

In Scotland, there is a feature on the race for one of the more invisible honours, 3rd place, aka The Best Of The Rest after Rangers and Celtic, looking at those clubs aiming for that spot.

A more curious phenomenon in recent years was Masters Football, which WSC likened to ageing rock stars only playing hits from 20 years previously.

There is a feature on “lost footballers”, big money signings on high wages. The poster boy of this feature is Mark Bosnich, earning £40,000 in Chelsea’s reserves.

This edition focuses on young players, with a look at the number of French coaches at underage level in England.

Cover star Wayne Rooney is part of a feature looking at the history of hype of young players in English football.

There is also a feature on club football in Czech Republic, due to improved perfomances in Europe this season, with many teams boosted by Euro 96 stars coming home to play their club football.

Yeovil Town get a feature, so long a famous Non League giantkiller, and now on the verge of joining the giants they used to kill.

The rivalry between Cardiff City and Swansea City gets a feature, being described as becoming a poisonous affair in recent years.

The magazine ends with a brief look at the history of Cheltenham Town’s highlights and lowlights.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 12.5.1990

Later today, Alan Pardew will lead out Crystal Palace for the FA Cup Final. In 1990, he was playing for Crystal Palace, appearing on the cover of Match with current Stoke City manager Mark Hughes, then a Manchester United player, with the FA Cup sandwiched inbetween them.

As you open the magazine, Mark Bright is interviewed, urging Crystal Palace to make him a contract offer he can’t refuse, amid speculation over his future.

Across the page, Gary Pallister is interviewed, stating the the FA Cup offers a lifeline to a disappointing season for both him and United.

In traditional cup final fashion, the teams get profiled by a team-mate, Gary O’Reilly for Palace and Mike Phelan for United.

Phelan reveals that Steve Bruce is known as “Empty head” due to knowing a lot of useless facts, and Paul Ince is known as “Mr Quote” due to his love of speaking to the press.

In news, Ronnie Rosenthal states he won’t be returning to Standard Liege for the following season, with Liverpool, where he on loan, being his preferred destination.

It’s also Cup Final Day in Scotland, where Celtic face Aberdeen, and this gets a double page profile.

With the World Cup in Italy approaching, Match looks at those players with ambitions of being on the plane, and the choices Bobby Robson has to make.

Ally McCoist gets a profile, where he reveals a fondness for Brooke Shields, a fear of Spiders, and that his favourite thing about Match is photos of Ally McCoist.

In Match Facts, 18 year old Mark Bosnich made what Match described as a “reasonable” debut for Manchester United in a 0-0 draw with Wimbledon.

In their foreign round-up, Napoli win Serie A, but their star player Diego Maradona wants to leave and join Marseille.

As part of their World Cup preview, South Korea get a double page profile.

The magazine ends with a double page profile on Paul Gascoigne, as Match assesses his performance against Czechoslovakia in one of England’s warm-up games.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 2.9.1995

Tony Yeboah, having just scored a screamer for Leeds against Liverpool is the cover star of Shoot, with the headline reading ‘THE BEST GOAL EVER?”

In news, Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle has been promised a Lamborginhi Diablo if Chelsea won the league in 1996. Chelsea finished 11th, but it didn’t stop Glenn Hoddle from being appointed England manager.

One of Hoddle’s signings for Chelsea that season, Ruud Gullit gets immortalised in the form of a double page comic strip of his career, called ‘The Ruud Gullit Story’

The story of two Aston Villa team-mates gets a rather curious introduction.

“The Bosnian War will be forgotten as two members of the warring factions declare peace in the heart of England” referring to the friendship between Mark Bosnich and new Villa signing Savo Milosevic.

Yes, Mark Bosnich, born and raised in Australia.

The recent retirement of Marco Van Basten is marked, with a full page looking back at his career highlights, with the headline ‘THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES’

Jimmy Greaves uses his letters page to dismiss Trevor Francis claims that Tony Yeboah’s recent goal against Liverpool was the best goal ever, by listing his Top Six, with the winner being a goal for Ferenc Puskas against england in 1953.

A writer from Preston writes in to suggest that Gary Lineker and Alan Hansen should be put in charge of the FA.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United’s title chances get an endorsement from a ‘Jo Leon’ in Sutton Coldfield.

Joleon Lescott is from the West Midlands, and would have been in Shoot’s readership demographic in 1995. Surely not?