New season: everyone got their Shoot! magazine league ladders at the ready?

[Lady Whistledown]

Who had some of THESE as a child? I can't have been alone in always starting the season with the Albion at the top, and the rest in alphabetical order.

I'd maintain the tables for a few weeks (back in the 1980s I don't think the BBC even published tables until at least three or four rounds of fixtures had been played), and then rapidly lose interest and give up.

 

[upthealbion1970]

My son got one this season in his match magazine, you can see the Brighton one in my avatar

 

[Knightsworld]

Yup, every year for me, like you though, always gave up on it after a month or two, or until mum had hoovered my room with the tabs all over the place!

 

[Lady Whistledown]

My son got one this season in his match magazine, you can see the Brighton one in my avatar

Does Shoot! still exist then? I must say, I think I assumed it had died a death in the face of Playstations and so on.

 

[Basil Fawlty]

They were superb back in the day. Very Retro indeed, so glad Match Magazine are keeping up with the tradition.

 

[upthealbion1970]

Does Shoot! still exist then? I must say, I think I assumed it had died a death in the face of Playstations and so on.

Oops I stand corrected, he gets MATCH every week

 

[Surf's Up]

Yup, sad to say I was an avid league maintainer as a youth - I've broadened my horizons a bit since then thank god!!

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Oops I stand corrected, he gets MATCH every week

My mistake, not yours, reading back you did quite clearly say Match.

Oh, and I'd always put Palace bottom of the league to start with too, naturally.

 

[upthealbion1970]

My mistake, not yours, reading back you did quite clearly say Match.

blimey that's a rarity, I actually got something right!

 

[Durlston]

The BBC and Sky showing league tables now after one game really narks me. What point does it actually make? How can the presenters keep a serious tone? Bolton were top after they won 5-0 at QPR two seasons ago and were relegated. Twenty years ago, tables weren't shown until at least two or three games had been played.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

The BBC and Sky showing league tables now after one game really narks me. What point does it actually make? How can the presenters keep a serious tone? Bolton were top after they won 5-0 at QPR two seasons ago and were relegated. Twenty years ago, tables weren't shown until at least two or three games had been played.

Just more SkySports-invented hype. Does anybody have a crisis at being bottom of the league after one game?

 

[Drebin]

Great stuff! I tried doing this occasionally as a lad. Glad to hear they're still popular enough to be made. This seasons' would be a welcome feature on my desk at work.

 

[CorgiRegisteredFriend]

Just more SkySports-invented hype. Does anybody have a crisis at being bottom of the league after one game?

We will find out Saturday evening when Leeds prop up the table with a horrendous minus goal difference.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I wonder if QPR are this season's Leeds as far as the TV companies are concerned. I note that the Football League Show has already selected the QPR game tomorrow as their main game.

First of many, no doubt.

 

[Spun Cuppa]

After the 'kids' footy mags, I graduated to World Soccer in '92, which of course mostly shows top division teams in each country. I was glad to see super BHA got a mention in the latest issue, due to the capture of OG as our new head coach. It would be great if he can work his magic, and we feature in it regularly, by going up

 

[SeagullinExile]

 

[el punal]

Going back even further, the 1960s, you could get Charles Buchan's Football Monthly, the Football Star and football related comics like Tiger (with Roy Of the Rovers), the Victor (which had the superb Gorgeous Gus).

I remember getting the league ladders as a free gift in one publication but can't remember which one.

Showing my age here - some of the "inserts" were clubs like Barrow, Southport, Bradford Park Avenue, Swansea TOWN. Re-election always, relegation never!

 

[Spun Cuppa]

They were a clever marketing ploy of course as well

After the closed season, they would give the ladders in an early-July issue, then give the Divisional tabs over probably four weeks, meaning you would hopefully, for them, keep buying the mag through the season

 

[brakespear]

I got one of the Shoot! league ladders in about 1980 or so and kept it for the next 5 or 6 years - even used to play a game where the two teams next to each other in the table would play each other with a score decided by dice and the winner would go up a couple of places and the losers dropping similarly. I didn't get out much as a kid

 

[London Irish]

My 6-year-old has just put this up on his bedroom wall. He has to beat my boyhood record of two week's interest in them