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N/A: Darren Anderton, Tottenham Hotspur, Honey Monster’s Soccer Pop Ups

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Given an opportunity I would probably have cereal for most meals. I appreciate this reveals an unsophisticated palette, a distinct level of laziness and a concerning lack of maturity but if you hadn’t worked the last two out from this blog then maybe you haven’t been following too closely. Thankfully being married to an actual adult and enjoying cooking has prevented me from existing entirely on Cheerios but there’s always a box of something on the go for emergencies and what seems to be missing nowadays is a questionable prize to go with the breakfast, lunch or dinner of champions. In the halcyon days of the 1990s the choice of breakfast had much more to do with what random thing came free with it over nutritional value or flavour. This is perhaps why Sugar Puffs dominated the market. Buried in your pack of glazed puff wheat could be a figurine of Alan Shearer , Les Ferdinand or Lee Sharpe or perhaps a pencil topper letting you light up your Maths lessons with appearances from Gunna
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219: John O’Shea, Manchester United, Topps Match Attax Trading Card Game, 2009/10

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The last in our fourth year anniversary collection of cult hero posts comes from Mat Jolin-Beech and takes us to his traditional stamping ground of Old Trafford and the production line of quality Manchester United talent from the Sir Alex Ferguson years. Over to Mat on one of Waterford’s most famous sons. Cult heroes – those fan favourites than opposition fans and players love to hate. Or players that the homes fans love, despite them being a bit shit. That’s the definition right? Well, yes. But also no. It’s a very subjective thing and each club will have its own roster of cult heroes. I’m lucky, although having recently lost to Fulham makes me doubt that statement, that being a Manchester United fan there is a big list to choose from. I was thinking about Park Ji-Sung but I’ve covered that tireless worker before. Another was Diego Forlan purely for those goals against Liverpool. But I’ll save him for another day. Today, it’s John O’Shea and first up: that goal against Arsenal . T
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396: Dave Kitson, Reading, Merlin’s F.A. Premier League Official Sticker Collection 2006/07

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Our third post to celebrate our fourth anniversary comes from Emlyn Shepherdson-Jones (yes, he got married and went all Gary Taylor-Fletcher) and takes a look at a well travelled forward who definitely hasn’t had a job on the side revealing football’s darkest secrets. But that’s what he’d want you to think isn’t it? Over to Emlyn. When the suggestion came through on the Sticker's Worth 500 Words WhatsApp to do a cult hero for our respective teams, the immediate thought that came to mind was James Harper . I've already written about him and several of his title-winning contemporaries over the years, but definitely could have waxed lyrical for several thousand more on the adoration I have for this man. However, in the interests of a tiny semblance of originality, I will focus on a man who sat next to Harper in the 2006/07 Squad Photograph – with both men linking arms and gently caressing the inner thigh of the other. It's no secret which footballer I'm describing: Readin
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392: Steve McMahon, England, Panini Italia ’90 World Cup

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Our second post to celebrate our fourth anniversary comes from Richard Allinson and takes a look at one of his boyhood heroes who he might have only just worked out why he idolised. You’d like to think it was his commitment to the game which saw him admit he’d “kick (his) own brother if necessary... it's what being a professional footballer is all about.” Rich, however, might have other ideas. Growing up, I had two childhood heroes. In truth I had more than that but a post on Super Ted or the Ultimate Warrior wouldn’t fit within the scope of this blog. No, my childhood heroes were Dave Beasant and Steve McMahon. I’m nowt if not glamorous. My idolisation of Beasant I can pinpoint to the exact moment he saved a penalty in the 1988 FA Cup final. I have spent the thick end of four decades trying to work out why I held McMahon in such high esteem and haven’t got there previously. Let’s try again. He was part of the all-conquering Liverpool side of the late eighties, but I didn’t suppo
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67: Dougie Freedman, Crystal Palace, Merlin’s Premier League Kick Off Sticker Collection, 1997

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Just over four years ago the entire world was plunged into the harrowing Covid-19 pandemic. Tragically many lost their lives and all of us, in one way or another, had our lives irrevocably changed by the first of many lockdowns that put a stop to day to day life. Huge amounts of time in our houses forced us to do strange things from home haircuts, baking banana bread, donning a tinfoil hat or, in our case, deciding to start writing a load of nonsense about old football stickers. To celebrate our four-year anniversary we will be taking it in turns to reflect on some happier times with a look at our cult heroes. Thanks to anyone and everyone who has been involved in this frankly ridiculous journey over 350 posts. There’s plenty more in the locker and we’re always open to requests or guest spots . Early on in my nearly eighteen-year long relationship with my now wife we were having a chat about the happiest day of our lives. Common sense should have told me that the romantic thing to s
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289: Alan Curtis, Swansea City, Panini Football ‘83

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This post owes a lot to the excellent work of Greg Lansdowne and his commitment to the world of football nostalgia so, before diving into today’s subject, it’s time to say thank you. Greg’s ‘Stuck On You’, exploring the rise, fall and resurrection of Panini stickers, is a must read for any football fan and the subsequent ITV documentary is a fascinating watch. As today’s particular subject predated my birth by five years I’m very grateful for him bringing the Panini Football ’83 collection to my attention and especially for the visual gift below. Cheers Greg and thanks for the photo. Hope this an enjoyable read. Marking some recent Year 7 work on source reliability was an insight into the innocence of youth. When asked why a photograph of an air raid shelter during the Second World War was useful to an historian many of them plumped for the idea that a photo provided an accurate depiction of events from the time. They’re going to get a real shock when they learn about Stalin’s Russia
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N/A: Chris Kamara, Sheffield United, Chris Kamara’s Street Soccer, Midas Games

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In November 1972 the arcade game Pong made its debut and the gaming industry was born. While not the first attempt to make some computer pixels do not very much for the amusement of the masses it was by far the most commercially successful and, by the end of the decade, the first ever football game was unleashed on the world in the form of NASL Soccer. Judging by the YouTube footage it seemed to involve lots of brightly coloured stick men over hitting through balls and running in the opposite direction to oncoming forwards which may well be what the likes of Trevor Francis , Johan Cruyff and Gerd Muller were getting up to over in the US at the time. Throughout the 1980s the games became more realistic and a host of star players and managers put their names on products of variable quality. Peter Shilton’s Handball Maradona (not that he is anyway bitter about being out jumped by a midget) gave youngsters the opportunity to fulfil their goalkeeping fantasies in a range of scenarios with r
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