Book Review: Merlin’s Premier League ’95 Sticker Album

After reviewing a few board games and one or two computer games related to football from the past I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the great football books. I’ve started with Merlin’s Premier League ’95 Sticker Album, and whilst lacking in words or a cohesive narrative I feel it has much to offer, even now fifteen years after it was first published.

The front cover is adorned with four strikers from the big four: Eric Cantona (Manchester United), Andy Cole (Newcastle United), Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers) and Alan Smith (Arsenal). Smith’s inclusion is odd in that in the season previous he was outscored at Arsenal by team-mates Ian Wright, Paul Merson and even Kevin Campbell. 94/95 would prove to be Smith’s last season as a professional so it was perhaps a fitting send off to be featured with such prominence.

The album’s introduction is slightly confused and uses the term Premiership and Premier League interchangeably whilst many of the teams display reserve goalkeepers where you’d expect attackers to be. Ugo Ehiogu is placed within the Aston Villa strikers and looks out of place on the Aston Villa pages alongside the sublime genius of Dalian Atkinson.

The album features a rare candid picture of Eric Young that depicts him without his trademark headband. Whether the shot was taken with or without Eric’s permission is unclear, but you’ve got to assume that this photo wasn’t cleared by Young’s people.

Gareth Southgate is also featured above. It’s always odd seeing players that have now retired (and have even managed) in these albums. It makes you consider your own mortality and worry more about the passing of time and the ravages of age.

Premier League managers are featured in this album though they aren’t afforded their own stickers (like many earlier years were). Unlike the player head-shots the manager pictures are inconsistent and vary from the above Deehan shot looking like he’s advertising a new car showroom to a rather old fashioned picture of Southampton’s Alan Ball wearing a flat-cap in the dugout.

Not providing stickers for managers may come down to Leicester City Football Club, the place where their manager should be is filled with the simple statement “No manager had been appointed at time of going to press”. No one’s going to be able to swap that sticker in the playground, even for Noel Whelan.

Each side in the album is given one “3D sticker. The album explains:

Using revolutionary new photographic methods key stickers for each club can be seen in 3-D when viewed through special glasses – see the leaflet inside this album to see how you can get yours!

Why anyone would want to see Tony Adams, Bontcho Guentchev, Vinny Samways or (oddest of all) Leicester City’s Nicky Mohan in 3D I have no idea.

3D was obviously big in 1995 as Merlin also saw fit to include a Magic Eye picture a few pages from the back. Dear reader, I have tried to establish what it is, I’ve tried very hard. Unfortunately I’m unable to decifer what the picture is of, but bearing in mind the content of the rest of the album I’m assuming it’s something like Earl Barrett attempting a slide tackle on Jason Wilcox.

For many Marc Hottiger’s mullet, Phillipe Albert’s moustache and Pavel Srnicek’s bowlcut were what the Premier League was all about in the early days. But  it wasn’t just these exotic imports who exuded such magnificence. The Newcastle defence of 1995 features some fantastic hair (both head-top and facial), the Pat Sharpe of the early Premier League Barry Venison features between the two Magpie goalkeepers, making him even more prominent than normal. Even Steve Howey (not pictured above) is seen on the opposite page of the album sporting some strange facial hair. It’s likely even close family members don’t remember the beard and moustache combo that Howey sported during the mid 90s.

A root through old sticker albums is always an interesting and fascinating foray into a set point in time. Many albums are out of date before they hit the shops and this one is no different. Does anyone truly remember much about Sheffield Wednesday’s Aussie winger Adem Poric?

Overall 4/10 – Pointless 3D spoiled what was otherwise a wonderful memento for Premier League supporters of the 1995 season.