Shoot (magazine)

Shoot, or Shoot Monthly, was a football magazine published in the UK by IPC Media. After nearly 40 years, it ceased publication at the end of June 2008. [ [http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/817286/Shoot-closes-weekly-bid-fails/ Shoot closes as weekly bid fails] brandrepublic.com] .

Introduction

The magazine began publication as a weekly in 1969 [ [http://www.bl.uk/collections/football.html bl.uk] ] and was primarily targeted at teenage football fans. In an era before older fans had glossy monthly magazines such as "Four Four Two" targeted at them, Shoot was arguably the most popular football magazine in the UK, remaining the strongest magazine in this market until the mid 1990s.

In its heyday it was known for the quality of its news stories and articles on all aspects of football in England and Scotland. The magazine was also known for its "Star Writer" features. Each season a selection of big-name First Division players were signed up to write columns, including such star names as Kevin Keegan, Bryan Robson and Charlie Nicholas. This feature continues in the current monthly incarnation of the magazine, with stars such as Joe Cole and Danny Mills penning regular columns.

The magazine also featured Paul Trevillion's famous You Are The Ref comic strip for many years. This strip was collected in book form in 2006. [ [http://www.guardianbooks.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10401&mpe_id=13709&productId=46617&intv_id=34546&fromPage=home&evtype=CpgnClick&catalogId=25501&langId=100&ddkey=ClickInfo guardianbooks.co.uk] ]

Today, Shoot still contains more player interviews than any other football magazine. Fact|date=June 2008 It is still a trusted and respected brand within the market and most notably amongst the football community. Particular friends of Shoot include Joe Cole (a long-standing columnist), David James and David Beckham.

Throughout 1994, new adventures of the comic strip Roy of the Rovers appeared in Shoot. The magazine had previously included "Ray of the Rangers", a parody of "Roy of the Rovers".

League ladders

The weekly magazine was also known for its annual free gift of "Shoot League Ladders". This consisted of a thin card sheet on which were printed blank league tables for each division of The Football League, with a slit in the card alongside each position on the tables. Also given away were T-shaped "tabs" for each club in the league (printed in the appropriate team colours) which could be fitted into the slits to indicate where each team currently stood in the league table. As the season progressed and teams moved up and down the table, their tabs could be moved to new slits accordingly. Old league ladders are still regularly sold on eBay. [ [http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2005/12/24/story562609373.asp Irish Examiner] ]

Demise

Shoot's circulation fell from 120,000 (Not Exact) copies per week in 1996 to 33,455 in Autumn 2007. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/sep/25/pressandpublishing2 Shoot kicks off new-look issue] mediaguardian] . It had changed to a monthly publication in 2000 as it faced massive competition from its long-term rival Match and a series of new titles including FourFourTwo, When Saturday Comes and other failed competitors such as 90 Minutes and Total Football.

Its circulation in 2007 rose 7% year-on-year and it relaunced as a weekly magazine in late February 2008. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/21/bbc.pressandpublishing Football magazine market heats up] mediaguardian] However, publishers IPC closed the magazine at the end of June 2008. [cite news
url=http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=41452
title=Football mag Shoot closes after 40 years on the ball
date=2008-06-20
accessdate=2008-07-07
publisher=Press Gazette
first=Satwant
last=Pandher]

References

External links

* [http://www.shoot.co.uk Official Shoot Monthly website]
* [http://www.ipcmedia.com/magazines/shoot/ Shoot profile on the IPC Media page]
* [http://www.shoot-magazines.myjalbum.net/ The first issue ]