MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 3.3.1979

Lou Macari is the cover star of this edition of Shoot, which features action from the recent European Championship Qualifier between England and Northern Ireland.

As you open the magazine, there is a double page spread assessing West Brom’s chances of winning the title, canvassing players from three rival clubs.

Martin Dobson of Everton says they won’t, while Ian Wallace (Coventry City) and Viv Anderson (Nottingham Forest) say they can. Dobson would be proved right.

In news, Liverpool are adding extra seats at Anfield, while Warren Feeney scored twice for Linfield against his former club Glentoran.

Ray Clemence uses his column to comment on the modern game, that defenders need to make their contribution in the goalscoring department.

Jim McCalliog is interviewed about football in the USA having recently played there, declaring it to be 4th Division standard and not recommending it for English players.

England’s recent 4-0 win over Northern Ireland gets four pages of coverage, with England manager Ron Greenwood still considering Northern Ireland to be a danger to his side’s chances of qualifying.

Elsewhere, there was a full page asking if the England team is too old.

In foreign news, France are in danger of not reaching Euro 80, and some fans are calling for a change in manager.

Elswehere, Dino Zoff is interviewed and states that he has no plans to retire. Good choice, ad he won the World Cup in 1982.

QPR are the subjects of this week’s Club Spotlight, including a centre page poster.

Gordon Hill uses his column to discuss the PFA Player Of The Year Award, stating that he has voted for Garry Birtles as Young Player Of The Year.

Ahead of the Tyne/Wear Derby, John Bird and Mike Docherty preview it. Sunderland won the game 4-1 but neither side ended up winning promotion that season.

With the 1980s approaching, Danny McGrain uses his column to look back at Scottish football stars of the 1960s.

Staying in Scotland, Shoot does a two page feature asking if English clubs are exploiting the Scottish transfer market to sign players for bargain prices.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : WORLD SOCCER – JULY 1973

Action from a recent international between England and Scotland is the cover image of World Soccer during the summer of 1973.

The editorial focuses on discipline, with Alan Ball getting an indefinite ban from international football after a red card in Poland, debating if players in English club football should be allowed to appeal a red card.

England’s end of season tour gets reviews – a World Cup Qualifier in Poland (defeat) and friendlies in Soviet Union (win) and Italy (defeat), which have provided more questions than answers.

In Czechoslovakia, Spartak Trnava’s title bid as back on track after some disappointing results.

East Germany’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cuop in West Germany are now relying on their qualifier against Romania later in the year.

In Yugoslavia, Red Star Belgrade have stormed through to take the title.

Going back to Germany, this time to West Germany, it is reported that manager Helmut Schon faces a tough task to add the World Cup in 1974 to the European Championship, after a run of disappointing results.

Meanwhile in France, it is reported that the future of football in the country is described as “healthy”

Despite winning a third successive European Cup, all is not well at Ajax, with Spanish clubs eyeing up their stars. One of those clubs is Barcelona, who blew the title in the run-in, finishing second to Atletio Madrid.

Sunderland’s recent shock FA Cup win, beating the two previous winners en route, has instigated a debate if the difference in standard between England’s first and second tiers is as large as is made out.

In Wales, it is expected that their away game in Poland will decide if they have a chance of going to next year’s World Cup, while Cardiff City are hoping to arrange a special friendly to commemorate the opening of their £250,000 grandstand extension.

There is article on Dave Clements, who has recently emerged as Northern Ireland’s star player.

There is a tribute to John Connelly, a World Cup winner in 1966, who has just retired.

In Spain, clubs are now allowed to play two foreign players, with the writer describing it as a “black day” for Spanish football, as it will attract money grabbing mercenaries rather than improving the standard of Spanish football.

There is a review of the European Cup Final, which focuses more on Juventus poor performance than Ajax’s win.

Juventus were not involved in this season’s Anglo-Italian Cup, with Brian Glanville spending two pages writing about why the competition should be scrapped.

There is a review of the final weeks of the Irish League season, where Glentoran beat Linfield 3-2 in the Irish Cup Final, despite losing goalkeeper Alan Patterson to injury.

There is also a focus on World Cup Qualifying, with the big headline in Europe being the elimination of Hungary.

Scotland’s hopes of reaching West Germany will decided in their crunch encounter against Czechoslovakia in September.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 4.4.1992

It’s Cup Semi-Finals in England and Scotland, and this is reflected with John Byrne of Sunderland being the cover star.

As you open the magazine, there is an article titled “Stuff Your Seats”, as Shoot canvassed fans for their opinion on all seater stadiums, the majority of responses were against this.

Liverpool and Portsmouth’s Semi-Final gets previewed with Ian Rush and Warren Aspinall profiling their team-mates, while Gordon Armstrong and Robert Fleck do so for the Sunderland v Norwich tie.

Jim Leighton gets interviewed about what he describes as “My United Hell” after being dropped at Old Trafford, and how he had initial doubts about signing for Dundee, and now has ambitions of winning promotion to the Scottish Premier League.

John Murray from Cork suggests that the costs of all seater stadiums means it makes more sense for clubs to groundshar. Jimmy Greaves agrees with him, but can’t see it happening.

In Scotland, Shoot profiles Hearts goalkeeper Henry Smith, who is determined to make up for his error which cost Hearts their Semi-Final against Celtic at Hampden in 1988. Smith’s ambitions are to win the Scottish Cup and go to Euro 92, having made his international debut earlier this year at the age of 35.

Brett Angell of Southend gets interviewed about rejecting a moive to big spending Blackburn Rovers, saying that the timing was all wrong.

There is an advert for the following week’s edition, which will preview the League Cup Final between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.

The magazine ends with a double page spread on the troubles endured by London’s top flight clubs in 91-92.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 15.2.1986

The other way around from the movie series, it is Bond sending rather than receiving an SOS, as Birmingham City manager John Bond wants to bring cover star Trevor Francis beck to St Andrews from Sampdoria.

As you open the magazine, Mark Hughes tells Shoot that he doesn’t want to leave Manchester United, amidst rumours of a move to Barcelona.

In news, Terry Venables is linked with a move to Spurs at the end of the season, while leaving White Hart Lane could be Ally Dick, linked with a move to Hibs.

In World Cup news, Billy Bingham hits back at criticism of Northern Ireland’s preparation being against heavyweight sides such as Denmark and France, while Scotland manager Alex Ferguson has added Archie Knox and Craig Brown to his backroom staff for their campaign in Mexico.

Cover star Francis tells Shoot he is still available for England, having missed a recent friendly due to injury, and suggests he could create a place for himself in right midfield in Mexico.

Bryan Robson uses his column to state that the recent signing of Terry Gibson could be a boost for Manchester United in the title race.

In Scotland, Falkirk winger Jimmy Gilmour is playing so well, he is drawing comparisons to his uncle, former Celtic winger Jimmy Johnstone.

Crystal Palace manager Steve Coppell, only 30, tells Shoot that his side have had to change their style of play in order to get results, after previously missing out despite playing well.

Having saved Manchester City and Swansea City from relegation, John Bond is looking for a hat-trick by keeping Birmingham City up. In order to do this, he tells Shoot he wants to bring Trevor Francis back to the club, after Francis left to join Nottingham Forest in 1979 in England’s first £1m transfer.

Gary Mabbutt gets scouted by Shoot during Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Nottingham Forest, stating that he was exposed against a striker like Peter Davenport.

Back to Scotland, and Aberdeen’s John Hewitt tells Shoot that Dons manager Alex Ferguson is hard to please.

West Brom’s George Reilly tells Shoot he is happy at The Hawthorns after a short spell at Newcastle United.

Kenny Swain tells Shoot that he believes his experience of winning the title with Aston Villa in 1981 will help Portsmouth as they aim to get promoted to the top flight for the first time in 27 years.

West Ham goalkeeper Phil Parkes is having the best season of his career, and owes it to giving up booze after a drink driving ban in January 1985.

Ian Rush uses his column to praise his Liverpool team-mate Sammy Lee, who is celebrating his 27th birthday thsi week.

Meanwhile, Shoot does a double page spread on how Sunderland fans are losing patience with Lawrie McMenemy, after failing to launch a promotion bid.

The magazine ends with a “Focus On …..” Gordon Durie. His favourite bands are Depeche Mode and Simple Minds.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 14.12.1985

Frank McAvennie is the cover star of this week’s edition of Shoot, having just broken into the Scotland team.

As you open the magazine, Shoot has a double page feature on Kerry Dixon, where it is revealed that Spurs turned down the chance to sign him.

Garry Birtles is interviewed, having just been converted into a central defender, and is loving it, despite the fear of giving away a penalty.

Terry Gibson tells Shoot that he does not expect Manchester United to win the league, which will have been awkward when he signed for United later that season.

The IFA have stated that they expect to make £250,000 from their appearance at next year’s World Cup in Mexico.

There is continuing talk of a Super League in English football. Shoot asks various football stars about the way forward. Gary Stevens (the Spurs one, not the Everton one) suggests games on Sundays, Don Mackay of Coventry wants 6 divisions of 16 teams, while Mark Hughes wants less games.

Sunderland v Portsmouth is billed as the big game of the weekend, and Shoot focuses on the mutual admiration between respective managers Alan Ball and Lawrie McMenemy.

Scotland’s World Cup Qualifier against Australia gets a double page spread, focusing on Scotland’s strikers at opposite ends of their career – Frank McAvennie making his debut, and Kenny Dalglish winning his 99th cap.

Talking of Scotland, Shoot looks at youth team boss Andy Roxburgh, and his globetrotting exploits in 1985.

Most of those, were scouting trips. Talking of scouting, Shoot scouts Steve McMahon of Liverpool, describing him as a new Graeme Souness.

McAvennie is mentioned again, in Ian Rush’s column, who describes his as a great goalscorer, adding that his Wales team-mate Mark Hughes isn’t a great goalscorer.

Jimmy Greaves gives his Star Letter award to Norwich City supporting brothers championing Steve Bruce’s case for a place in the England squad.

Bryab Robson uses his column to reveal that the signing of Colin Gibson has lifted the mood of everybody at Old Trafford.

Bobby Moore has enlisted the help of various former West Ham team-mates as he aims for success as Southend United manager. The club are currently making plans to move to a new stadium at Rochford.

Leeds United get a Club Profile and Team Poster.

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.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : MATCH – 29.5.1999

David May, David Beckham, Teddy Sheringham, and the FA Cup are the cover stars of Match, as Manchester United have just won the double, a third in six years, but there’s more to come.

Unfortunately, printing deadlines mean that only a preview, rather than a review, of the European Cup Final against Bayern Munich can appear in the magazine.

In the news section, there’s a random story of a West Ham celebrity fan having a kickabout at West Ham’s training group with Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand ……. Tamzin Outhwaite from Eastenders.

Meanwhile, Alan Thompson predicts big things for Aston Villa in 1999-2000, despite their 1998-1999 title challenge falling apart after Christmas. They finished 6th in 2000, like in 1999, but did reach the FA Cup Final.

Peter Beagrie, having just helped Bradford into the Premier League, is interviewed for a feature called “My First …..” where he reveals his first concert was Diana Ross at the NEC in Birmingham, his first film was Jaws, and his first kit was QPR.

The FA Cup Final, where Manchester United beat Newcastle United 2-0, gets a five page round-up, mostly pictures, with quotes, with a page dedicated to a mimute by minute report of the game.

The rest of the magazine is dubbed “Champions Special”, dedicated to teams that have won their league. First up, is Rangers, and a double page interview with Andrei Kanchelskis ahead of the Scottish Cup Final between Rangers and Celtic.

Meanwhile, Sunderland (Division One) Fulham (Division Two) Brentford (Division Three) and Cheltenham (Conference) all get full page reviews of their title winning seasons.

Meanwhile, there is a five page preview of the European Cup Final, focusing on an interview with Ryan Giggs, while Yorke and Cole get a joint interview as well.

Bayern Munich get a full page, written by Steffan Effenberg, listing five reasons why they would win, that they were underdogs, well prepared, good at penalties, under no pressure, and most importantly, United had Roy Keane missing.

It was a bit laughable of Bayern Munich to pretend they were underdogs considering they actually won their group (though both games were draws) ahead of United.

There is a centre page poster for the game, where fans can fill in blank spaces with the team line-ups and goalscorers.

Manchester’s other team, City, also had a big match that week, as they headed to Wembley for the Division Two Play-Off Final, and Match does a double page interview with Nicky Weaver.

But it’s not all about Champions, as Dennis Bergkamp looks back at Arsenal’s season, where they missed out on the title by a point.

Gareth Southgate is interviewed about Aston Villa’s New Year collapse (They were top of the league at Christmas) and heaps praise on youngsters in their team such as Gareth Barry, Lee Hendrie and Darius Vassell.

In the letters page, a West Bromwich Albion fan worries that his side might lose top goalscorer Lee Hughes. He left for Coventry in a big money move in 2001, before returning to Albion, before being sacked by the club after being sentence to prison for causing death by dangerous driving.

In other letters, a young Wigan Athletic fan suggests that the town’s football team are in the process of becoming more high profile than it’s rugby team.

This week, is also one of the very first weeks where you contribute to Match’s letters page via e-mail. Modern technology.

Meanwhile, you could do a quiz on Aston Villa right-back Steve Watson, if you wanted.

Talking of quizzes, Karl-Heinz Reidle took on Gianfranco Zola in a football quiz, with Zola winning 9 (out of 10) to 8.

It was Karl-Heinz Reidle’s inability to answer who got promoted from Division Three that cost him.

PHOTO DIARY OF A FOOTBALL SEASON : NOVEMBER

A busier month than the previous two, it started with a trip to Old Trafford to see United take on Sunderland.

As luck would have it, it was the weekend that Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated his 25th anniversary in charge at United.

Didn’t get many shots of the game as I was too far up, I did get some nice shots outside the ground.

The following midweek, I got a nice crowd shot at The Oval when Linfield played Glentoran.

There was a new Linfield mural in Sandy Row, which is well worth checking out. Unsurprisingly, I went to get a photo of this.

On the last weekend of the month, I visited the newly rebuilt Seaview for the first time as Linfield faced Carrick Rangers and got some nice shots of it.

Enjoy

Manchester United v Sunderland

Manchester United v Sunderland Photo Album

Weavers To Winners

Carrick Rangers v Linfield

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF A FOOTBALL SEASON

You can thank @philmojones4 for the inspiration for this pointless blogpost, when he commented on how many matches he’d been too during the 2011-2012 season, and it got me thinking, then I thought some more, and came up with this statistical analysis of the football season just past (I know technically the season is still going, but for me, it is over)

Matches Attended : 44

Goals Seen : 120

Red Cards : 5

Hat-Tricks : 2

Aaron Burns (Linfield v Dungannon Swifts) Peter Thompson (Linfield v Newry City)

(Last season I witnessed hat-tricks by Dimitar Berbatov and Lionel Messi)

Hat-tricks missed due to being on holiday : 1

Phil Lowry (Linfield v Donegal Celtic)

Hat-tricks missed due to not being arsed with Irish Cup ties v lower league opposition : 2

Rory Patterson (Linfield v Ballyclare Comrades) Peter Thompson (Linfield v Coagh United)

Highest scoring match : 7 (Linfield 7-0 Newry City)

Countries seen football in : 4

England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland

(Last season, it was 4 as well – England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Spain)

Teams seen play : 28

Aberdeen, Ajax Amsterdam, Ballymena United, BATE Borisov, Carrick Rangers, Cliftonville, Coleraine, Crusaders, Derriaghy CC, Donegal Celtic, Dungannon Swifts, Excelsior Rotterdam, Faroe Islands, Glenavon, Glentoran, Heart of Midlothian, Linfield, Lisburn Distillery, Manchester United, Newry City, Northern Ireland, Norway, Portadown, Serbia, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, Utrecht, VVV Venlo

Competitions Watched : 8

Eredivise, Euro 2012, European Cup, FA Premier League, Irish Cup, Irish Premier League, Scottish Premier League, UEFA Cup

Stadiums Visited : 14

Amsterdam Arena, Ballymena Showgrounds, Ballyskeagh, Coleraine Showgrounds, Mourneview Park, Old Trafford, Seaview, Seycon Park, Shamrock Park, Solitude, The Oval, Tynecastle, Windsor Park, Woudestein

NB: Stats do not include last night’s Manchester United v Irish League XI game. My visit to Amsterdam for the Holland v Northern Ireland game will be counted towards 2012-2013 statistics.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : SHOOT – 22nd MAY 1993

This edition focuses on Shoot’s 1993 FA Cup Final review edition, which unfortunately for them, required a replay to be played on the date of publishing.

The cover stars are Paul Warhurst and Ian Wright battling for possession in the original game.

A report of the FA Cup Final gets a double page spread.

In rumours which look silly now : Barnsley want Gordon Strachan to be their manager, and Manchester United are going to sign David Platt, Stuart Pearce, David Hirst and Roy Keane.

Aston Villa apparantly want to sign Stan Collymore. They did, four years later, after he had spells at Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.

Brian Clough marks his retirement with an exclusive interview, which gets a page dedicated to it.

Aldershot Town get a page dedicated to them. Founded in 1992 from the ashes of Aldershot FC, they were started again in the bottom tier of English football.

Manager Steve Wignall said the club have a realistic ambition of being a Football League club again by 2003. They did make it back to the Football League, but not until 2008.

Jimmy Greaves letters page is as crazy as ever.

Ashley Ballhatchet from Farnham Common cheerleads for Julian Dicks getting into the England squad.

John Richards from Sunderland is unimpressed by the idea of Sunderland leaving Roker Park to a new 40,000 all seater stadium.

Meanwhile, with qualification for the 1994 World Cup looking unlikely, the plight of Scottish football gets a double page spread.

Scotland ended up qualifying for Euro 96 and France 98, but nothing since.

With Manchester United winning their first title in 26 years, long serving captain Bryan Robson gets a double page spread about his delight at this.

It was a good year for Welsh football. With the national team making a serious bid for World Cup qualification (they eventually lost out in the final game), Cardiff City and Wrexham were promoted from Division and Swansea City reached the Division Two play-offs.

In Division Two in 1992/1993 were current Premier League clubs Stoke City, Bolton, West Bromwich Albion (all three promoted), Fulham, Wigan Athletic