Football magazines may not be as popular as they once were, but the desire to express opinions about football is stronger than ever.
As a young footballer who doesn’t go to Anfield often, the match day shows are my memories of the occasion.
As I got older and was able to visit more often, the fanzine became more appealing.
It’s less corporate, more authentic, and I feel like I’m helping keep something alive.
The club could function without three to five of my books; the two books for Red All Over The Land make much more sense – still a celebration book but actually readable too.
An art form is disappearing
The soccer fanzine seller was once a fixture at soccer stadiums across the country.
However, more and more clubs do not allow sales on their premises and fanzines are in decline.
Liverpool has had several – Well Red, Another Wasted Corner, The Liverpool Way and Through the Wind and Rain, to name a few – but Red All Over The Land is currently the only survivor.
Official programs are more popular, but even these have been affected by the growth of the Internet.
It is here, on the global web of creativity, opinion and abuse, that people have spoken.
Instead of printing their ideas on paper, young people post their thoughts online, sometimes attracting a large audience.
However, with the new ease of sharing opinions comes the possibility of making senseless, hateful and extremist opinions.
Radical views in the world of football are clearly less of a problem than those that plague society, but that hasn’t stopped the debate surrounding the sport from changing.
Previously, supporters had to go to the trouble of printing their own publications for a fee or submitting their work to active fanzines.
This makes it much more difficult for attention seekers to communicate their opinions to a large audience.
But now, with just one click, they can incite large numbers of opposition supporters.
Screaming for sale
Unfortunately, all of this means that gaining fame by shouting into the camera, literally or figuratively, has become the norm in mainstream media.
Posting nonsense is intended to irritate healthy fans and they, in turn, see and respond.
This makes the publisher profitable, so they have an incentive to push the nonsense further and more often.
So much so that a certain radio station is now almost unlistenable.
Where has the voice of reason gone?
Well, common sense doesn’t sell.
This season, even the BBC and Sky Sports have begun attracting their supporters online.
The main PL broadcaster in the UK posting clickbait images for interactions. Football coverage in 2023. https://t.co/AzEZWUwapQ
— Ste Hoare (@stehoare) October 8, 2023
This is not to say that magazines are full of nuance and well-crafted, balanced opinions, that is not always the case.
They are targeted and purchased by like-minded supporters.
However, this means they are often unappealing to fans of other clubs.
Fanzines are not created purely on the basis of profit, unlike the Internet caricatures that you will certainly see after reading this article.
Fanzines are often created out of love, creativity, and passion for the team and fans they serve.
Red All Over The Land founder John Pearman told This Is Anfield:
“It took about six months to put everything together.
“This was done outside of work hours, using a computer for the first time.
I had access to every little thing there, right or wrong, but I used my position there to find time to do it.
“Everything was set up with the usual stuff at the time:
Sellotape, Tipp-Ex, SprayMount, photocopy paper.
Still have cravings?
Football is no less popular than it used to be, despite what Florentino Perez might tell you, but print media is.
So how far do fans’ thoughts and emotions spread?
We’ve talked about screamers and screamers, but what about those who are less motivated by instant fame.
Liverpool fans have been at the forefront of the decision to put content online.
The website you are reading, This Is Anfield, has been running since 2001 and there are countless other websites that absorb Liverpool content.
Multimedia has developed more recently than online journalism.
Redmen TV and The Anfield Wrap are the two leaders in this field.
Chief executive Neil Atkinson said:
“People like to hear authentic, clearly expressed opinions in an environment that really promotes the idea that people have to like it (soccer).
”
It is this emphasis on fun that now guides The Anfield Wrap.
There are times when you can complain, but at the end of the day, football is considered a hobby.
Mainstream media riling its supporters doesn’t really fit that philosophy.
Like Wrap, an important element of the fanzine is humor.
“We don’t consider it a tiring job.
We make it seem like all of these things will make life better,” Atkinson added.
The future of fanzines
Unfortunately, print fan magazines are in decline and have been for some time, but there are still some fans who attend games who crave them.
Red All Over the Land is the latest Liverpool fanzine to emerge from the once busy scene.
Pearman believes there is still a market for these products, despite the decline.
He told This is Anfield:
“People say it’s out of style anymore, but I tend to disagree, because you can’t sell something digital to people passing by – they want something in their hands.
“People want to have something in their hands, that’s how I look at it.
”
The idea of ​​having both memories and reading material is one eloquently summarized by journalist Elis James.
He wrote in the Guardian:
“The simple passage of time has transformed these initially mundane documents into something captivating.
“I can understand why some clubs put these things online.
Printing programs seem as outdated as the typewriters they were written on.
“But there are some things you can’t do with an app.
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