Football 78

FOOTBALL 79

As Bob Paisley led Liverpool to his third Division One title and Forest splashed the cash to help conquer Europe, Panini further established its number one spot in the collectables market with Football 79.

Now with formal approval from the Football League – as well as the English and Scottish Professional Footballers’ Associations – Panini’s collection stood out among all other football sticker albums.

Football 79 was also a step up in quality from Panini on the back of their UK domestic debut the previous season. Player images were now almost all from the previous summer’s preseason photoshoots, ensuring the latest kits were shown (always an issue for rival albums that came out earlier). The shiny club badges were replaced by a denim-style material with a silky finish. Many collectors still look back on these as the high point of Panini innovation.

All Scottish League Premier Division clubs (not just the ‘Old Firm’) now had a double-page spread in an album of nearly 600 stickers (an increase of 69 from the previous season). The stickers themselves changed shape a bit as well, and was slightly taller and narrower than Football 78.

Before getting into the usual team pages, Football 79 opened with a six-part map of the UK, pinpointing every club in the English First and Second Divisions, as well as the Scottish League Premier Division. This was a great feature, as well as being the kind of geography lesson no one ever got at school!

Once more distributed via Shoot!, the album and a packet of stickers were given away with the magazine dated 27 January (to be precise, on sale on Friday 19 January), followed by two more packets the following week. The

The shiny club badges were replaced by a denim-style material with a silky finish. Many collectors still look back on these as the high point of Panini innovation.

1978–79 HONOURS

First Division:

LIVERPOOL

Second Division:

CRYSTAL PALACE

Third Division:

SHREWSBURY TOWN

Fourth Division:

READING

FA Cup:

ARSENAL

League Cup:

NOTTINGHAM FOREST

Scottish Premier Division:

CELTIC

Scottish First Division:

DUNDEE

Scottish Second Division:

BERWICK RANGERS

Scottish Cup:

RANGERS

Scottish League Cup:

RANGERS

British Club European honours European Cup:

NOTTINGHAM FOREST

games in hand. Already trailing by a goal, Johnny Doyle was then sent off and it seemed the game was up for the Bhoys. A see-saw match eventually went Celtic’s way as two goals in the last 10 minutes secured a 4–2 victory.

Panini’s Football 79 featured a new manager at Aberdeen, Alec (no longer Alex) Ferguson. Ferguson’s biography in Football 79 predicted he would not find it easy in his new role. Despite the misgivings, Sir Alex – he later switched back to his more usual name – led the Dons to a UEFA Cup spot, as well as the League Cup final.

As in England, that season’s top goalscorer in Scotland came from one of the lesser lights. Andy Ritchie, shown in Football 79 in front of a vivid blue backdrop, hit 22 of Morton’s 52 goals.

Rangers earned some consolation for missing out on the league by winning both domestic cups. After two goalless draws, the Gers beat Hibernian 3–2 at the third attempt to lift the Scottish Cup. Derek Johnstone – whose locks were far curlier in Football 79 than the previous album – was the two-goal hero. Alex MacDonald scored the winner in a 2–1 win over Aberdeen in the League Cup final.

Along with all the trophy winners from that year, Panini ended the ’70s on a high, with the promise of much more to come in the new decade.

FOOTBALL 81

The early 80s were an exciting time in football. English clubs dominated in Europe while Panini’s bright new designs kept fans coming back for more – and brought delight to lower-league fans with an expanded range of stickers.

Football 81 was a shiny heaven for collectors as every English First Division and Second Division club, as well as those in the Scottish Premier Division, were given their own gold-embossed badge.

To cut down the number of stickers elsewhere in the album, First Division clubs only featured 12 individual player stickers and the manager. A short-lived innovation saw the team photos for First Division, Second Division and Scottish Premier Division clubs divided into two full-size stickers. This made it easier to pick out players in the shot and aligning the stickers became a fun extra task.

And for the first of only two occasions during the Football 78 to Football 93 era, English Third Division clubs appeared via a single team group sticker and a potted club history. First Division clubs in Scotland were also given the same treatment – for some it would be the only time they made it into a Panini album.

There was also a great special feature section in the album, which went on to become common during the 1980s. In Football 81 there was a 10-sticker page on ‘The Cockney Cup Final 1980’, highlighting West Ham United’s FA Cup triumph over Arsenal. As well as action shots there was a four-piece puzzle of

‘The victorious Hammers group’.

The Scottish Football League had now added their official approval, joining the English Football League, and English and Scottish PFAs on the front cover. And as usual, most collectors got

Third Division clubs appeared via a single team group sticker and a potted club history. First Division clubs in Scotland were also given the same treatment.

their album and first packet of stickers by buying a copy of Shoot! (published on 24 January 1981 to be precise).

On the pitch, the 1980–81 First Division title race was fought out between Aston Villa and Ipswich Town. By midMarch there was a real prospect that Bobby Robson’s Ipswich could pull off the treble of First Division, FA Cup and UEFA Cup titles. But then they lost seven of their last 10 league games and were knocked out of the FA Cup at the semi stage thanks to a thumping Paul Power free-kick for Manchester City.

In comparison to Ipswich’s exhausting 66-game season, Villa only played 46 matches and used just 14 players throughout their entire Division One campaign. Gary Williams, David Geddis and Eamon Deacy were the three to miss out on a Football 81 sticker, while Brian Little made the cut despite injury ending his career prematurely in 1980. Villa’s twopiece team group image featured a distracted Gordon Cowans, looking away from the camera, but he more than made up for it by being totally focused on the pitch.

Villa travelled to Arsenal for their final league game knowing that a point would be enough to win the title. If the Villans slipped up there was still an opportunity for Ipswich to capitalise if they won their remaining two fixtures.

In what became a celebratory affair for both sides at Highbury, Pelé was introduced to the crowd while goals from Willie Young and Brian McDermott secured third place in the table for the hosts. Despite the defeat, Villa were crowned League Champions as Ipswich lost 2–1 at Middlesbrough.

Under the management of Ron Saunders, Villa’s success was spearheaded by strike duo Peter Withe and Gary Shaw, rivalled only by Bodie and Doyle of ITV’s The Professionals as the deadliest duo around.

Ipswich did get the silverware they deserved when they beat AZ Alkmaar 5–4 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup Final. Midfielder John Wark scored in both legs of the final to cap an astonishing European campaign that saw him score 14 times. Paul Mariner, Alan Brazil and Eric Gates were also regular marksmen, while Russell Osman – sporting a much shorter haircut in his Panini sticker than normal, owing to his appearance as a POW in the film Escape To Victory – was the only Ipswich ever-present in their seemingly never-ending 1980-81 pilgrimage.

Town’s FA Cup semi-final conquerors, Manchester City, went on to play Tottenham Hotspur in a memorable replay

Chas ‘n’ Dave accompanied Spurs on their way to Wembley, performing ‘Ossie’s Dream’ as the first of four FA Cup Final songs recorded with the north London club.