A Sticker's Worth 500 Words

This week’s post comes from one of Twitter’s best football nostalgia accounts, ShootingStars , who we’re always happy to do business with thanks to their exceptional collection of niche cards and Rob’s willingness to share his pictures with us. Today’s subject was put forward “as one of those players associated with being a kid and having his card” which has been the gateway for so many of us over the years. Rob was very honest in saying he wasn’t exactly an expert on the man pictured below. Luckily none of us were either. Hopefully that’ll change over the next few paragraphs. University sport has been the starting point for many promising sportspeople in this country since games were codified and organised in the late nineteenth century. Oxford University’s football team took part in the second ever FA Cup competition and made it all the way to the final where they were defeated by the reigning champions Wanderers. They went one better in the 1873/74 final and would have experienced...

Mat Jolin-Beech has been on his travels again and is once again delving into a more internationally flavoured subject. As a result the 848 professional appearances, 84 England caps and place in the English Football Hall of Fame are somewhat skirted round. Clearly after his trip to the Austrian capital it meant nothing to Mat. The other week I went all Ultravox and travelled to Austria for a work conference. I finally hit the big time and made it into Europe! And much like Celtic in the Champions League, it was intense but all too brief and I was back home before I knew it. Unlike Celtic, getting there wasn’t smooth sailing. But, after rushing through security following traffic and parking delays at Heathrow, I managed to get to my seat on my Austrian Airlines flight. Now, over some odd looks as I type away furiously in my window seat and munching my free chocolate, I’m thinking about those Brits who have gone abroad and into Europe for work. Many have been successful. Gary Lineker, Da...

This week we are taking on a request post from Twitter’s excellent Pro Set Daily account. Sadly our subject was “a couple of years late to the Pro Set party”, and seemingly all other sticker and card collections, but over a career spanning nearly twenty years there were plenty of other highlights which were followed closely by a certain family member. We hope this does the trick for you and the star of your Nan’s garden mate and apologies to any pedants out there for how far we have stretched the idea of “A Sticker” being worth 500 words. Football is a game so universal that even people who don’t particularly enjoy it would have played it at some point. Unless you happen to be a professional footballer, however, it is highly unlikely you have come up against, or played alongside, many future or former stars. They just seem to operate in a different world . When former Reading midfielder Jem Karacan used to drop into our Saturday morning kickabouts on Blackheath we had no idea that we...

This week’s post from Richard Allinson was due out a few months back but the untimely passing of its subject meant we put the brakes on to allow some space for the fitting obituaries to a talented footballer and manager. To provide some context for this article throughout the summer Rich and I kept ourselves entertained by making up farcical transfer news which was a good way of passing the morning commute until reality outpaced us thanks to the likes of Todd Boehly and the great bunch of lads behind the Saudi Pro League. Trevor Francis was much more than a transfer record and the outpouring of admiration and respect following his death more than proved that. His infamous transfer to Nottingham Forest, however, set the wheels in motion for the transfer jamboree we all enjoy today. Over to Rich. I write this article slap bang in the middle of the 2023 summer transfer window. So far, Newcastle United have paid £55m for Alberto Aquilani ; Arsenal are on the verge of paying £105m for Gare...

This week we take on a request post on behalf of two of our Twitter followers albeit with several months passing between the actual requests. When The Football Pinks put forward the first player on this sticker as one of the “names I loved the sound of a kid” it reminded me that I’d made a note of a sticker featuring his teammate thanks to Dave Mathieson ’s suggestion many moons ago due to his post-career acting exploits. Thanks for the ideas, (and for your patience Dave) we hope this does this does the trick! When AFC Bournemouth defeated Charlton Athletic 3-0 on the last day of the 2014/15 season to secure the Championship title it ended a 126 year wait to experience top flight football. Perhaps most impressively it marked the end of a remarkable turnaround for a club that had started the 2008/09 campaign with a ten point deduction in League Two due to their perilous financial situation. While the Cherries suffered relegation in 2020 they bounced back at the end of the 2021/22 seas...