The soccer magazine [Archive]

oriel

09/10/2006, 9:23 PM

Does anyone know when or even why this brilliant publication stopped. I lived in the UK early 90`s and I always used to look forward to it arriving by post. My last recollection is around 1996 when it was last out ???

It always had a results section with teams and most attendances. Perhaps it was the availability of the internet that killed it. From memory the soccer mag was previously the 'the soccer reporter' a newspaper version monthly publication, (actually not to dissimilar to the gazetta de la sport !!!!) i think it ran from the mid 70`s to early to the mid 80`s. The Soccer mag for the kids out there was a glossy colour mag, maybe 30 pages, 100% loi/international news.

Real shame it went away.

Paddyfield

09/10/2006, 9:35 PM

I have about 40 copies of it in the attic. I believe it was published by a guy who was a sub-editor in the Irish Times.

All articles were written without being critical of a Club or player. It was an era when all players were semi professional and many football grounds had little or no seating. The only grounds with floodlighting were Oriel, Glenmalure and Dalymount. And of course, all games were played on Sunday afternoons.

Irish Soccer Magazine was long dead before the internet became popular. Another publication, "11-a-side" came out soon after but was crap. Actually, it was pathetic.

BohsPartisan

10/10/2006, 8:00 AM

Was Irish Soccer not around until about '99. I remember getting it a few times alright, then it disapeared.

Larry 'da' Wyse

10/10/2006, 9:46 AM

BohsPartisan

10/10/2006, 10:57 AM

Yeah was thinking it was around a lot later than 96.

dcfcsteve

10/10/2006, 11:32 AM

It was an era when all players were semi professional and many football grounds had little or no seating. The only grounds with floodlighting were Oriel, Glenmalure and Dalymount. And of course, all games were played on Sunday afternoons.

Well the Brandywell had c. 3,000 seats and floodlighting by about 1990.....

I used to love Soccer Magazine. Still have a umber of copies filed away neatly myself.

dcfc_1928

10/10/2006, 1:21 PM

The guy who ran it, I think he died quite young as well.

Tony something?

dcfcsteve

11/10/2006, 10:22 AM

Frank Quinn is given as the "Publisher" (not the printer) in a copy I've just looked at from 2000.

dcfcsteve

11/10/2006, 10:24 AM

I think 'The Soccer magazine' ran till 1994 when it was retitled as 'Irish Soccer Magazine' and ran from June 1994-June 2000 (finished at no.146) I guess the reason it folded was due to lack of sales.

It apparentyl folded because of the change in rules re tobacco advertising. A cigs advert was permanently welded to the back page, and when the law changed to disallow this they apparently couldn't keep it going without that revenue.

Sad that the difference beween success and failure for an Irish football magazine was Benson and Hedges....

BohsPartisan

11/10/2006, 10:35 AM

A cigs advert was permanently welded to the back page, and when the law changed to disallow this they apparently couldn't keep it going without that revenue.

....

Was the add paid for by Ollie Byrne? :D

Drumcondra Red

11/10/2006, 12:14 PM

Was the add paid for by Ollie Byrne? :D

No... :rolleyes:

dcfcsteve

11/10/2006, 12:27 PM

Was the add paid for by Ollie Byrne? :D

No - that would amount to an honest and legal transaction involving ollie and cigarettes..... :D

monzo

11/10/2006, 5:08 PM

There was a lad here a few months back claiming a new mag 'Ground football' would be coming out in July, yet it never did...

dcfcsteve

11/10/2006, 5:43 PM

There was a lad here a few months back claiming a new mag 'Ground football' would be coming out in July, yet it never did...

I don't think it ever got off the Ground..... ! :D

I'll get me coat.....

monzo

11/10/2006, 5:55 PM

You do that. ;)

CollegeTillIDie

11/10/2006, 6:45 PM

It apparentyl folded because of the change in rules re tobacco advertising. A cigs advert was permanently welded to the back page, and when the law changed to disallow this they apparently couldn't keep it going without that revenue.

Sad that the difference beween success and failure for an Irish football magazine was Benson and Hedges....

Quite so,the Irish Soccer Magazine, went the way of the Rothmans Football Yearbook. However , unlike the yearbook, no new sponsor/anchor backpage advertiser came on board , to take their place and the magazine died.
The Yearbook got Sky Sports on board and is healthier than ever.

CollegeTillIDie

11/10/2006, 6:48 PM

There was a lad here a few months back claiming a new mag 'Ground football' would be coming out in July, yet it never did...
July would be a crazy time to launch a soccer magazine,given that we have a March-November season. The Season would be half over by then.

I am sure you will agree that given the fact that we now have summer soccer perhaps it would make sense to start with a January(2007 perhaps) Issue a review of 2006 say, and then leading into the Setanta Cup in February, perhaps coverage of possible friendly internationals coming up until the real stuff starts in May.

LukeO

12/10/2006, 1:24 AM

All articles were written without being critical of a Club or player. It was an era when all players were semi professional and many football grounds had little or no seating. The only grounds with floodlighting were Oriel, Glenmalure and Dalymount. And of course, all games were played on Sunday afternoons.

What are you waffling about? :rolleyes: A different "era"? It ended six years ago ffs and by the 90s most club had floodlights and only a few clubs played on a Sunday.

BohDiddley

12/10/2006, 6:38 PM

Anyone know what the circulation was?

Tenderloins

13/10/2006, 2:37 PM

The Magazine also focused on Irish Players in Britain, not just International players either. This at the time was something none of the main papers covered.
Still have a few issues of it in the Mothers attic somewhere.:)

Dodge

13/10/2006, 2:49 PM

Bob Hennessy used to do that piece. It rarely featured LOI players on the front cover (Pats winning the league in 1996 was featured however)

That 11-a-side thing was actually a competitor for a while. Terrible altogether.

Sheridan

13/10/2006, 2:55 PM

I happened upon the first few editions of 11-a-side a couple of years back whilst fishing through some neglected boxes of papers. It started off quite well with some very engrossing features and anecdotes from old pros, but quickly ran out of steam.

Dodge

13/10/2006, 3:08 PM

It was done by publisher in Drogheda (I think, certainly not Dublin) who had a succesful GAA mag out at that time (couldn't tell you the name). Used to do features on LOI clubs and junior football and seemed to get most of their advertising from those clubs local sponsors.

There was also the shortlived Kickin' magazine that seemed to be aimed at a younger group (pull out posters and the like...)