Former players - where are they now?

Now I do feel old.
I remember when there was an ‘early’ Star each day and when the football scores would be printed in the Stop Press section of the Saturday late E and S.

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How many people still buy newspapers?
I know of not a soul my age (30) or below who does

Not me. The last time I bought one was The Daily Telegraph for the obituary of Don Bradman, which would have been in 2001 I think.
I used to buy a morning and evening paper, plus the Pink on a saturday, and various cricket and football magazines every month, but I stopped them and now only buy Private Eye every fortnight.

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I buy the I paper on occasion during the week and often buy their weekend issue.
I’ve only bought a local paper on rare occasions over the last 20 years.

I don’t buy one on a regular basis but if I’m going on a train journey or happen to find myself with a couple of hours to spare in a public house on my own, then I’ll buy a copy of The Times or Guardian to help pass the time

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I subscribed to the Shropshire Star for a while but gave it up because they would report on all the clubs in the West Midlands except us (apart from when we played the Sloppies).

I used to read the Metro when I was in London but that was only in the vain hope that some dusky maiden may have had a Rush Hour Crush on me in the vicinity of Lambeth North tube station.

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Get the local rag most days. Sudoku, cryptic crosswords and daily quiz make me keep coming back!

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I only buy the E and S the publication date after we’ve played for the match report.

Need to buy some for my job (any neurodiversity articles that appear).

Did they use to call the Star on a Saturday evening the pink? Sorry for interrupting into your conversation by the way.

Sort of but not really. The Pink was a paper, called The Sporting Star, that was separately produced on a Saturday evening (by the E&S people, on pink paper) to report on the local teams, and have features on them, as well as all the results from the afternoons football, and it also covered racing and anything else that had been going on. There were reports on the reserve games as well.
It was a good paper, finished in about 2008 or thereabouts.
There was also a sports paper called The Argus (or Sports Argus maybe) which was produced by the Evening Mail/Birmingham Post group, also on a Saturday evening.
Knocked on head round about the same time as the Pink, perhaps a year or so earlier.

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Which (confusingly) was also pink.

When I was living up in South Yorkshire their Saturday evening sports paper was green.

I always referred to the Star and the Argos as “The pink paper” The Argos used to arrive at the paper shop a bit later than the Star as I recall.

Sadly missed. I don’t buy papers really now but I would still buy the pink if they were still around. Spent many Sunday mornings studying the league table on the back page with a cup of tea.

My favourite headline

image

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I think that headline was nicked from the Mirror, who had it the day after Anfield.

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I always presumed it arrived later because it was coming from Birmingham, rather than the Wolverhampton and Telford printing presses of the Sporting Star.

So many happy memories of standing waiting in the newspaper shop by the Telford ground for the “pinks” to arrive. You’d get the Sporting Star first, be reading that, then the Argus would arrive…already paid for, copies handed out to waiting folks, and off you’d zoom to get home and read some more! Some great football conversations whilst waiting as well, me being the only Walsall fan there amongst Baggies, Wolves supporters, a Leeds supporter and a few Telford lads.

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Always prefered the Sports Argus. They were the only paper that provided write ups for the non-league scene… well up to about the 70th minute anyway. Always an incentive to score in the first half, then get the Argus and see your name in print in the same paper as your your sporting heroes. Still have the papers in the loft.

Many a time over the years I’ve been asked to get something from the loft, make the mistake of opening up the suitcase and got side tracked reading the old reports, much to the angst of the better half.

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I found the Argus hard to get on a Saturday evening in Shropshire. My memory is that it wasn’t available until Sunday morning, but obviously I’m mistaken as you used to buy it on the Saturday.
I’m trying to think what shop you mean “by the Telford ground” as I have no recollection of one. I remember Pete Edwards having a shop in that row across from the flats at Hadley, and was there one round the corner in Arleston as you went up the Dawley Road?
I know you’ve moved away, so do you know The Bucks Head (the pub) is no longer a pub but is (or was) a pizza place?

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I had exactly the same experience in the late 80s / early 90s waiting in the newsagents in Rushall where Eileen Mason is now. At about six o’clock there would be a dozen or so blokes waiting for the Argus, the Star would have arrived 10 minutes or so earlier, and then the Argus would arrive and we’d all head off to devour the news and results. Some pubs would also stock the pinks on Saturday evening.

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It still is (Domino’s).

We used to get the Star and/or Argus when a bloke with an armful came into whichever CIU club we usually went to on a Saturday night (nearly always North Walsall Working Men’s). You’d also have people coming round selling the Warcry - and of course the cockle man.

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So you come along the Wellington road, past the ground on your right, then turn left at the traffic lights and it was immediately on your left.

The guy who worked in there was Roger, a leeds fan. He was also a steward at the bucks head and later worked at tesco, pushing the trolleys around outside. He was always good for a chat and, if i didn’t see him first, I’d here the loud shout of “hello walsall” across the car park :rofl:

I didn’t know that about the bucks head pub, but I’m not surprised. I haven’t been out that way in a wee while. I like to get to the wrekin when I’m down with family, but it’s not been possible of late. I’d love to take a drive up from shawbirch to longdon as well and see if my old house has changed much.

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