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Post by MrP on Oct 5, 2023 12:31:29 GMT 1
View AttachmentView Attachment“FULL TIME: THE SECRET LIFE OF TONY CASCARINO-As Told To Paul Kimmage” published in hardback by Simon & Schuster/Paperback by Scribner Enter any decent bookshop, find the sports section and there you will always find some books about football ‘The Beautiful Game’. And, usually, wherever you go, you will find at least a few autobiographies of players currently at a (usually) big football club, and maybe one or two writing about their life, playing or managing at various football clubs. Most players (and ex-pros/managers) will have engaged a ‘ghost writer’ Ie a journalist/reporter/author of previous works to which they will give numerous interviews before any type of book is planned and formulated. This person, who might write for a tabloid newspaper (or other) will then have the job of turning the vast amount of information revealed in the interviews into some sort of book. These writers will guide the interviewed player, hoping to get some less well-known information, revealing anecdotes, comments to include in the finished work. Many players who ‘author’ one of these whilst at a big club will make sure there is plenty within the pages to show their loyalty, love and attachment to their said club. Fans lap up this kind of devotion, just as some like to see their favourites kissing the club shirt badge after scoring a goal. But, if you’re looking for more balance, objectivity or candour, these type of books may not always deliver. For players who have spent a life in football, and are retired or in the final stages of a career, the aforementioned attributes may be found. It depends on the player. This player will be older though, (hopefully more mature and well-rounded ?) and prepared to share details of the bad as well as the good, maybe even in a self-deprecating way. But, again it depends on the player. Tony Cascarino’s volume here belongs to the latter category. From the early 1980s-2000, he played for a number of high profile clubs including Millwall, Aston Villa, Celtic, Chelsea, and Marseille as well as representing Ireland at international level, 88 times and scoring 19 goals. (NB: his revelation concerning his Irish ancestry was a major story at the time in itself!) But, this ghost-written book (written by an Irish sports journalist who had himself competed as a cyclist at an Olympics and won a prize with one of his previous sports books) differed from most of the tomes which have been written by footballers either before Cascarino’s time, or who came after him. ‘Full Time’ is considered a unique book which holds its own not just in the football genre, but set against all those produced in the vast field of sport. Praised by an array of good judges, one of the blurbs on the back reads, “One of the best football autobiographies you are ever likely to read.” Recommended. Agree completely. An excellent read and think this was one of the first biographies that acknowledged the mental turmoil of the professional sportsperson. You didn’t need to know Cascarino or support one of his clubs to enjoy this. |
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 5, 2023 15:48:29 GMT 1
Yes, it did. It is only comparatively recently, that mental illness, depression and anxiety have been acknowledged as presenting amongst sportsmen and women. But, when you consider they have to constantly be striving to maintain certain standards, despite aging/injuries etc and where top class football is concerned have a lot of extra time on their hands, (which in itself can lead them astray), it’s not hard to see how these problems can manifest themselves. In addition, where football is concerned, few men have ever revealed their homosexuality (particularly in the premier game in the UK). Yet, statistically, there must be many having to deal with the fact that the game (despite the rainbow flags) is not seen as being welcoming or tolerant and at the fan level appears to remain homophobic. (Some anyway.) One who famously did ‘come out’ was Justin Fashanu-of Norwich City and Notts Forest, but he probably regretted it. He certainly had an early unhappy demise. And, though many at the very top achieve great fame and wealth, this is no guarantee of personal happiness as we see with those who have turned to alcohol and illegal drugs, over the years. Indeed, many find this is difficult to cope with in itself. George Best, one of the greatest footballers ever, was never what you’d call a happy man and exited top level football, when he was still in his prime. It always seemed to me, the more accolades he got, the more he was feted, the unhappier he got, and drink in the end finished him. Gary Speed, sadly, died by his own hand with few knowing he had even been battling his own ‘demons’.
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 8, 2023 19:10:46 GMT 1
“THE ACCIDENTAL FOOTBALLER” BY PAT NEVIN Published by Monoray There used to be a phrase (perhaps still used?) “His brains are in his boots!” This comment clearly meant, on a football field the said player (male generally when first coined. Would they use it of women?!!) was highly intelligent in playing football, knowing when/how to pass, dribble, make a tackle, shoot, run with the ball and all the varying football skills/abilities etc etc, but that was the ONLY place where they showed intelligence! Of course, this phrase was a pejorative used particularly to imply the said player was none too bright, and it also (sort of) implies ‘football intelligence’ is of much lesser value. (It wasn’t the case for Pat Nevin!) However, looked at from another uncritical perspective, the person saying it was half right. There are many kinds of intelligence, and we would say today, (hopefully), they generally all have value or should eg Best, Maradona, Pele, Messi, Cruyff, etc have been some of the most ‘intelligent’ players ever, at their peak, and at the top of their field (pun intended!) Thus, the intelligence of a skilled carpenter or electrician should be valued highly along with other types of intelligence. Thankfully, the days of only valuing academic intelligence are gone, and skills, abilities in many other areas deserve recognition too. Pat Nevin was an academically gifted young man who also happened to be very good at football. He played for some of the top teams in England eg Chelsea and Everton, won international caps and represented the PFA (Players’ Union) He also played for the only Scotland team to have won a major honour, in his youth. Later in his career he took on extra challenges connected to the running of a football club, when he retired from the game, having played for two more Scottish clubs. His position was ‘winger’ and he was an excellent example of one on the right-hand side of the pitch. He played ‘BPL’ ie Before (the) Premier League, a very different time in football, from today. “The Accidental Footballer” tells the story of someone whose brains were not just in his boots. In fact, he didn’t foresee a career in football. He was highly educated and actually much more interested in music as a pastime (indie) than football. Whilst other players were doing what footballers do before and after a game, he would be in a corner reading a book (to the amazement or amusement of team mates) but it wouldn’t be a trashy novel! Needless to say, this is a football autobiography but it isn’t ghost-written, it’s personally authored by the very person whose story it tells. And it covers his early career in Scotland but mainly England. (A sequel was published this year that deals with his time at Motherwell and Kilmarnock.) Needless to say, this book has been acclaimed as an excellent piece of football literature, eg praised by Henry Winter (top football journalist) nominated for prizes and acclaimed by many others. (Also, in truth Pat Nevin also always comes across as a very likeable, nice person.) Nevin is now a thoughtful pundit appearing on TV/radio both in Scotland and England, and even co-commentating live matches, when he is not writing. Up to now he has produced two self-written, and one co-authored, books on football. RECOMMENDED   |
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 9, 2023 8:58:20 GMT 1
Two other PN titles: 1) “IN MA HEAD, SON: A FOOTBALLER’S MIND REVEALED” (With George Sik) 3) “FOOTBALL AND HOW TO SURVIVE IT” ‘ |
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 12, 2023 10:02:49 GMT 1
“HOW TO WATCH FOOTBALL” BY RUUD GULLIT PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN/VIKING Another tactics/formations/skills book which I have just started to read. No doubt there will be plenty to learn here. I do appreciate his main point that if you want to know what is happening in terms of these aspects in the match you’re watching you should not be focussed on the ball, but what the players are doing eg in tandem with one another. Gullit was a football great in his era and also played alongside and managed other excellent players. So far, it’s very readable and informative. Will make another comment on completing it.  |
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 17, 2023 13:17:09 GMT 1
“HOW TO WATCH FOOTBALL” BY RUUD GULLIT PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN/VIKING Another tactics/formations/skills book which I have just started to read. No doubt there will be plenty to learn here. I do appreciate his main point that if you want to know what is happening in terms of these aspects in the match you’re watching you should not be focussed on the ball, but what the players are doing eg in tandem with one another. Gullit was a football great in his era and also played alongside and managed other excellent players. So far, it’s very readable and informative. Will make another comment on completing it. View AttachmentThis is a very informative and highly interesting book by an ex-footballer and manager with huge experience of playing for and managing teams at the highest level, both in the UK and in Europe. Gullit covers every aspect of the game from the point of view of player and coach, examining tactical systems, formations, approaches, patterns of play, but he never loses sight of the fact that the two most important things a team has to do is to win and the manager/coach must always keep in mind to do this the team-whether it be AC Milan, Ajax, Chelsea or…Guiseley-has to be set up to play to its strengths. Thus the person selecting a tactical formation eg 4-3-3 or 3-5-2 etc has to be aware first where the strengths and weaknesses of his/her team are before that decision is made. It’s hard to think of anything at all which happens within a match that isn’t covered here, and it is all done with thought, logic and good explanation. It is the case, that with the book being published in 2016, he talks (as you’d expect) about the players, teams of that time and before. Eg he believes Liverpool were tactically set up wrongly when the manager opted to try to win the home game v Chelsea when the Reds lost that game, and failed to win the Premier League. (They only required a draw) Steven Gerrard famously slipped, a goal was lost, but Gullit blames the manager not the Liverpool team. Similarly, Leicester City winning the Premier League is used as an example to show how tactics, formation and patterns of play can be used by an inferior team to beat better teams. (Here he praises the manager.) Nothing is overlooked, even the toss of the coin gets a mention. Ie if you win it, choose to play towards your own fans in the second half if you’re playing at home. But, if you’re playing away, play towards the away fans in the second half. Some things are obvious, others less so. His views on certain aspects of the game eg time-wasting, diving, simulation etc may be viewed less than sporting by some in the UK, which he readily admits. But, as he points out, the game and the way it is played and viewed across the globe differs. A spectator’s opinion of what constitutes fairness is their own. He believes there is unfairness in football, which is all part of the game of football. There is plenty to think about in this enjoyable and highly informative book. |
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 19, 2023 10:32:17 GMT 1
FOOTBALL MAGAZINES: NO 1: ‘CHARLES BUCHAN’S FOOTBALL MONTHLY’ I wasn’t yet born when the first issue of this, now long gone, (general) football magazine first appeared on the newsstands in 1951. It saw the light at a time described as football’s ‘zenith’ ie the post-war period. (The peak was season 1948/49 when football attracted 41 million spectators in the UK.) There was a need for a quality magazine devoted to Britain’s national game including colour photographs and this filled that gap and became enormously popular. Charles Buchan had once been an Arsenal player, thus the title had a solid football-related foundation for appealing to those who became regular readers amongst the match-going public. Each issue included articles, (never too long and very readable) about players, matches, teams, up-coming tournaments in the British (mainly English/Scottish) football calendar, letters (apparently one once appeared from a thirteen-year old John Motson!), quizzes and competitions to win prizes. There were adverts related to football eg games, accessories, equipment and programmes etc. There were beautiful full page or double page portraits of players or team groups which could be pinned up on a wall, put in a scrap book or even framed, which was a major attraction for many. Many fans would try to get these autographed and you see a lot of this material even today on eBay. (The classic pose of the footballer, holding a ball, crouched down on one knee was frequently seen.) All in all it was a very, lively, bright and attractive publication and it became enormously popular. I got it in the 60s, but by the end of that decade other excellent football magazines began to emerge and CBFM had serious competition. Nevertheless, for those who know it, it is held in very high esteem, part of a golden era when football was not expensive to watch, even at the top level. It was also much more competitive, with many teams having a chance of winning a trophy such as the League championship or FA cup. You only have to look at all the different winners of those two competitions in the 60s’ records to see that. And, crucially most teams had their star players, who stayed at their clubs year on year on year. (Thus, the pin-ups stayed up on the wall, rather than having to be hastily taken down after a big money transfer.) Today, club calendars hardly make it past January, before some of the featured players have gone! I think a reason why lots of general football magazines flourished back then (and they did) was because football fans were more prepared to read articles about other teams/players and in some ways it was a less partisan time. The game of football was loved. Footballers were admired widely who played for many different teams. Eg the one on the cover of the book below-Stanley Matthews. Over time, general football magazines began to disappear when fans began to be only interested in their own teams and players. Club magazines and newspapers emerged to fill this need for a while, but a lot of them have gone now. Today, CBFM would certainly be considered old-fashioned and it’s written content rather bland-nothing controversial, no piercing journalistic insights or revelations! No pandering to the sometimes over-the-top worship some have for just THEIR team! CBFM was of its time. But, I would say, what a glorious time to follow ‘The Beautiful Game’! The book below, published more recently, is a lovely compendium, showing examples of articles and photographs covering the years of the magazine’s existence. There were also other CBFM compendiums made to cover particular clubs eg Man Utd, Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal. These only contained material pertaining to those clubs but of course that proves my previous point. For some contemporary fans, they would only be interested in buying/reading a ‘CBFM’ book if it concentrated entirely on their own side. .  |
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 20, 2023 9:33:16 GMT 1
FOOTBALL MAGAZINES: NO 2: ‘FOUR-FOUR-TWO’
When this magazine first appeared some years ago, I started buying it. To be honest, I had usually in the past given any new football magazine a try when it appeared-quite a few over the years as a matter of fact! It was very professionally produced, beautifully-illustrated with a lot going for it. But, IMO it changed over the years and became more fixated on what I’d call the ‘glitzy, moneyed’ side of football. It became very Premier-League oriented and as it became more and more like this, I was moving away from interest in the Premier League and teams dwelling there. At one time, I used to watch every live European match (European Cup/Champions Lge) on terrestrial television (The Beeb/ ITV) often mid-week. But, gradually I began to lose interest. There appeared more group matches with seedings designed to keep the ‘big’ clubs in the competition as long as possible. And, to me I found some of the matches, predictable, boring and uncompetitive. This happened particularly under the so-called, ill-named ‘Champions League’ where you didn’t need to be a champion to compete in it or win it! The Premier League became (for me) boring and a turn-off, (or never turn it on!) too when clubs were bought out by corporations or rich billionaires who basically bought their teams and bought their successes at home and abroad. And then when the dreadful Rupert Murdoch-owned SKY started on its journey to live football world domination, that was the final nail in the coffin for me. I don’t subscribe to any Pay Per View football on TV. (But I have subscribed to whole match recordings after games have been played, produced by certain clubs themselves.) Okay, I’ll admit some of the players on PPV were/are the best in the world, but it’s all hardly truly competitive, just who has the deepest pockets to assemble the squad. And, of course, what sizes of squads they are! The top clubs love to buy up all the top talent and fillet other teams of their best players. Then they want to send out some on loan or see their ‘B’ teams included in competitions. So a) I don’t like the Premier League b) I don’t like the Champions League c) I haven’t watched the last two World Cups because FIFA (to me) is corrupt and those tournaments should never have been played in the countries that hosted them. Basically, for me, ‘Four-Four-Two’ supports/reflects a lot in football that I prefer to avoid and even admit, I loathe! TBH I haven’t looked at a copy for years-the front cover is usually enough to put me off! It may well be that there are some gems contained in ‘them there covers’ from time to time, to warrant some praise. But, for me, ‘Four-Four-Two’ stands for too much of what puts me right off about football in the present era. I could go on and on about the gambling advertising, the sponsorship….the….’greed is good’ way of thinking …but, no, I’ll leave it at that! I don’t even like it’s super glossy, shiny almost synthetic cover! Give me ‘When Saturday Comes’ every time! Others may disagree, it’s only my own personal view! (Well, I did say there would be ‘criticism’ as well as praise on this thread!) Rant over!
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 21, 2023 11:01:43 GMT 1
FOOTBALL MAGAZINES: NO3 /NO4 /NO5: ‘SOCCER STAR’/ ‘9O MINUTES’ / ‘GOAL’ (Three general football magazines)
‘SOCCER STAR’
Like ‘Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly’ this magazine originally took the name of a football player being launched as ‘Raich Carter’s Soccer Star’ in 1952. But, it eventually dropped the name and simply became ‘Soccer Star’. It was a weekly magazine, similar to a newspaper (though magazine size) and for most of its life (until 1970) was in B/W including photos although it used one colour on the front cover. (Towards the end a colour photo was featured there) I have just one copy of this magazine with a picture of one of my favourite teams on the front, but overall inside it comes across now as a bit drab and uninspiring. Of course, we’re talking about a long time ago and it did appear weekly thus providing relatively quick turnaround of football news, coverage and analysis, which was its main aim back then, unlike eg CBFM. It ended its days by being absorbed by ‘World Soccer.’
‘90 MINUTES’
This bright, attractive publication appeared from 1990 until 1997. It looked similar to how ‘When Saturday Comes’ appears today, same size, similar paper. But, it was a weekly and at its peak, (at the beginning) possibly the best football weekly available. It was certainly a favourite of mine in the first few years. Where eg ‘Shoot’ catered for the young (in part), 90 Minutes was undoubtedly, totally aimed at an adult audience and it could be excellent in its coverage and analysis, with interesting features and excellent photographs. It was founded by two men-one a Crystal Palace fan and was BEST in its earlier years. Later, I felt its quality started to diminish. Some of the old covers from past issues, certainly reflect this more ‘red top-esque’ (even down-market approach), which was a pity. Eventually, it was obvious in the later 90s the circulation was dipping, before it folded.
‘GOAL’
‘Goal’ football weekly ran from 1968 until 1974. It was a bit like a weekly version of Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly (CBFM), being produced using the same paper and similar kinds of photographs, though more up to date in its approach. It was colourful, attractive and featured coverage of all aspects of the game every week. I particularly recall buying it during the 1970 World Cup Finals and it excelled, producing excellent analysis, match coverage and colour photography from the games (at the time all newspapers only produced B/W photographs.) ‘Goal’ remains my favourite football weekly from the past.
Examples of all three of these magazines (and CBFM and all the others reviewed here) can always be seen on eBay and even purchased fairly cheaply.
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 24, 2023 16:18:40 GMT 1
“THE STORY OF THE BRADFORD FIRE” BY MARTIN FLETCHER PUBLISHED BY BLOOMSBURY The bare facts are well known. During the Bradford City v Lincoln City match at the end of the season (1984/85) when the home team had won the Third Division Championship and were to be presented with the trophy, a fire broke out in the main stand, just before half-time. Subsequently, this spread rapidly and burned down the whole structure, killing in total, 56 fans, including one Lincoln City supporter. This is believed to have been caused by a supporter dropping a still-lit cigarette through a gap in the wooden floor boards. Written by a survivor of this disaster, who lost his brother, father, uncle and grandfather-the biggest loss from one family in any football disaster-this obviously makes for sombre and difficult reading at times, but it is worth the effort. The author was 12-years old at the time, and in his adult years dedicated himself to finding out as much as possible about everything surrounding the disaster. He is obviously less than satisfied with a number of aspects eg the inquiry only lasted five and a half days, and makes a number of points in the book. Some were critical of him over some of the issues he raised, and this subject obviously remains a particularly sensitive, raw one, even over three decades on. I was also one who was at Valley Parade on that day, standing in the terrace in front of the affected stand and who saw the fire when it first emerged, and then later looked back at the stand burning down, whilst on the pitch. Yet, I did not know till later anyone had perished. Thankfully, despite the horrendous loss of life for people who were pursuing what was supposed to be a safe leisure activity, at least some good came out of it all. Eg Knowledge was gained by the medical profession regarding how to treat severe burns. The Fire Service use the TV film of the fire for training purposes, particularly to highlight its speed of travel. (ITV were there to cover BCAFC being presented with the trophy) And, of course, since 1985 regulations regarding what constitutes a safe grandstand, were also greatly influenced by the Bradford fire as well as by the other two major football disasters of the 1980s ie Heysel (also 1985) and Hillsborough (1989). Since the date it happened, on Saturday 11th May 1985, many gather annually in the centre of Bradford to mark this terrible occurrence which will never be forgotten. Attachments:
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 26, 2023 10:45:19 GMT 1
 Football Magazines: No. 6 : ’SHOOT!’ I remember buying the very first issue of this weekly general football magazine in August 1969, with its accompanying set of free cardboard ‘league ladders’. This free gift was given out many times in the following years. (The first division clubs’ tabs were included, but others for leagues’ 2-4, plus Scottish divisions followed in subsequent issues). ‘Shoot’ had the strapline ‘for boys’ for a while but this disappeared and I think this was because, whatever it’s main target audience was on launch, it did develop into simply a very good, well-presented and well-written football weekly magazine, with wide appeal. It became a very strong and popular football title with a big circulation. ‘Shoot!’covered UK (English/Scottish) football mainly, but not always just the top divisions. There were many good articles and guest (footballer player/manager) writers plus a double-page colour spread of a team photograph ever week. Also, there was a popular questionnaire where players gave answers to a variety of questions. It seems, the most popular response to, ‘Who would you most like to meet?’ was Muhammad Ali! The pictures, whether colour or B/W, throughout were excellent and everything was very up to date and of timely relevance. The magazine continued for many years as a weekly, (even absorbing ‘Goal’ for a while) before becoming a monthly. Finally, it returned to weekly publication until finally going on-line in 2008. In total it lasted 39 years as a physical publication which makes it one of the longest surviving football magazines on the bookstalls in the UK. As well as the magazine, a hardback annual appeared every autumn which was also very good in its heyday. The one above is a compendium published a few years ago for those, like me, who wanted to reminisce about what they enjoyed about ‘Shoot’ all those years ago. Nostalgia can be very appealing when you’re older! |
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 27, 2023 9:02:41 GMT 1
Football Magazines: No 7: ‘JIMMY HILL’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY’
This one, which only lasted three years from 1967, was the first glossy football magazine. It always had a colour photo on the cover, but inside was totally B/W. However, it was a good quality production, included some interesting material and was competition for ‘Goal’ which was running at the same time. Jimmy Hill apparently lent his name to it, but had no imput or connection with it apart from that. He had been a footballer with Brentford and then Fulham, but it was as Chair of the players’ union-PFA-that he became more widely known. For there, he was successful in the abolition of the ‘maximum wage’ which was paid to top footballers of the time. (After this, Johnny Haynes was the first player to receive £100 a week as a player-a fortune at the time!) Hill went on to become manager of Coventry City, taking them from Third to First Division. Not only that, he was responsible for new innovations unseen previously in the country, which we would call ‘modernisation’ today. Eg the Coventry programme became a quality ‘match day magazine’ (magazine size) instead of the smaller (near A5) issues most clubs used. Later still he was to become a major football pundit/anchorman/celebrity on ITV’s ‘World Of Sport’ before crossing over to ‘Match Of The Day’ on BBC. JHFW was a decent enough football magazine, but it could never compete with ‘Shoot’ or even ‘Goal’ and there probably was just not room for three weekly general football magazines on the bookstalls. In 1970, it came to an end, but, ironically, the week after it folded (pun unintended), Hill became a weekly columnist for its rival…‘Goal!’ Jimmy Hill was a huge football personality in those days who made guest appearances on BBC football programmes, live match presentations and was considered an ‘authority’ on the game whose opinion mattered. With his distinctive goatee beard and long chin, he was also a gift ‘for’ impersonators and was much parodied on TV comedy programmes.
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 28, 2023 9:16:34 GMT 1
Football Magazines: No 8 ‘SOCCER REVIEW’/ ‘THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE REVIEW’
First appearing as the Soccer Review in 1965, this magazine altered its name when it linked up with the Football League, which at that time involved the four top leagues in England-First to Fourth Division. It became more visible to football fans being given away ‘free’ inside the programmes for the matches of many Football League Clubs in the 60s/70s. It was a smaller, (near to) A5 sized publication so was the perfect size for programme inclusion. Sometimes they were stapled in with the programme, or they could be loose. This FLR was full colour, with pictures of teams and players and a variety of written features, but didn’t necessarily carry anything related to the club, whose programme contained the magazine. Many programmes at this time were B/W or one/two colour(s) and white, so this magazine brightened up the programme the supporters were buying considerably and it was (supposedly?) free.
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 29, 2023 9:18:41 GMT 1
Football Magazines: No 9: ‘MATCH’
Launched in 1979 to much fanfare (in term’s of TV advertising) this pre/teen general football weekly was certainly colourful, bright and noticeable when it first appeared. It was to become a main rival to ‘Shoot!’ but, in its earlier years, was less popular. In the early 90s it was given a big relaunch, with new look/different features/approach and started to gain more readers. This coincided with the dawn of the Premier League era which was given huge publicity. Match’s circulation climbed and in the end it was selling more than ‘Shoot’ which disappeared from the bookstalls in 2008. Always catering most for those who supported the popular teams, its main focus was/is on the Premier League. But of course, for some, Premier League football is the ONLY football that matters. And, of course today, local allegiance has been replaced by ‘brands’ (as was the intention) and is not important any more for a significant number of football enthusiasts. Some of these (the young mostly but not exclusively) like to be seen to support teams with a chance of winning major trophies. There are many who simply attach themselves to one of the biggest teams, and often follow them from afar, (without ever attending an actual match!) which can be done with the vast TV and multimedia coverage available today. ‘Match’ satisfied this audience. It is now a fortnightly magazine.
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Post by leftwinger on Oct 30, 2023 9:32:56 GMT 1
Football Magazines: No 10 ‘MATCH OF THE DAY’
This one, as its name suggests, is directly linked to the prestigious, long-running, BBC TV football highlights programme. I’ve only ever bought one or two of these magazines, in its early days, but it was a well-produced monthly, focussing, of course, mainly on the top tier in English football (like the programme.) Thus, if that’s what you were most focussed on, it would have appealed. These days, it seems to be aimed more at ‘youngsters’ (as the blurb says). And, of course, many fans want to read about and see pictures of the top players and teams in the Premier League, a lot of youngsters having ‘adopted’ one as ‘their’ football team.
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