Have it, got it, want it – welcome to the world of football card fever

A Different View with Dave O’Connell

n a time so long ago that there used to be a petrol station across from the Regional Hospital on the site where Tesco Express now sits, this small boy waited from one Saturday to the next for a special coin that came free with a fill of fuel.

The year was 1970 when England were the reigning World Cup holders – and to celebrate that fact, Esso had produced a range of little circular discs with the photographs of Alf Ramsey’s squad all set for Mexico.

I’ve no idea how much petrol you had to buy to get a coin but it was well worth it – to get Gordon Banks or Bobby Moore or Geoff Hurst or Alan Ball, you’d pour the stuff straight down the drain if you had to.

Unfortunately, there was an equal chance you’d get Keith Newton or Brian Labone or Tommy Wright, in which case the disappointment hung over you like a dark cloud until the following Saturday when you got back into the city and the Esso station again.

Roll on a few years and some crisp manufacturer decided that the best way to threaten Mr Tayto’s dominance was to come up with a sporting giveaway in every packet.

The free gift was a sliver of Steve Heighway’s head – and if you ate your own body weight into crisps, you might just find all the pieces to stick onto a supplied sheet for a four-foot version of Stevie’s mug.

The problem was, there appeared to be way more ears than eyes in the crisp packets, which left you with a version of what the Liverpool and Ireland winger might look like had he been involved in a very serious crash.

These days it takes more than Esso and crisps to float a young football fan’s boat; having lived through the MatchAttax days, we’re now in the era of the Panini album.

If you’re a parent you’ll need no further explanation – but just in case, let’s be clear that this has nothing to do with an Italian sandwich. And parents will also be quick to advise you that you could buy an awful lot of bread for the price of a full sticker album.

Recently, a maths professor from Cardiff calculated that filling this year’s Panini World Cup sticker book will cost collectors £773.60.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.