Subbuteo, and the all white kit

The thread about the white kit got me thinking earlier, of when I used to play Subbuteo in the early-mid 80s, and collect certain teams.
Its odd how teams kits got compared in those days, because they were much more basic, and better then. I had the Barnsley team, but it also said Notts Forest, Charlton, and Denmark on the box!!. I'm sure Mads Andersen would have found that Danish link with us amusing though.

 

All I wanted for Christmas was the Dukla Prague away kit.

 

My first Subbuteo set, a Christmas present, comprised 22 cardboard figures which had to be glued into bases - 10 red, 10 blue and two green (for the goalies). In the box were, additionally, stick-on numbers, from 2-11 for both red and blue teams and stick-on position abbreviations, such as RB for right back, LH for left-half, CF for centre forward. The numbers were stuck on the back of players' shirts and the letters on the bases. There was no pitch
I just had the players, the ball and the two goals. I absolutely loved it and played for hours on end with it, before graduating to flat celluloid players and then, eventually, to the 3-dimensional players and a green baize pitch.
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I started with the celluloid version - red , blue, red and white stripes, blue and white stripes. A few different 3d teams followed including all white. For some reason I painted their shorts bottle green!

Still got all of it, mostly intact. I usually played on the carpet although when I had away fixtures in the league I joined some players had a big enough table. Luxury!

Great game and I’ll never part with it but my scrambling around on the floor days are long gone…

 

Yeah I remember those little sticky shirt number things you could get, and put on the players backs lol. It was near impossible though, and I gave up in the end.
I wanted to put 4 and 9 on so I could pretend they were Glavin and Aylott.

 

I seem to remember getting Barnsley, which was also Liverpool and (bizarrely) Home Farm.

 

The funniest teams combination for me was Blackpool and Holland/Netherlands lol.
You also got Derby and Fulham and West Germany.
Sheff Ure and Sunderland and Stoke.
Everton and Ipswich and Portsmouth and Italy.
Newcastle and Notts County and Grimsby.
And so on..

 

I used to love Subutteo. I had about 30 plus teams. Still got em in the loft. If any of you can remember Brittons toy shop up Shambles Street and the Subutteo stuff was on the half landing of the stairs I think. My first port of call whenever I had some money in my pocket.

 

I remember the time I got too excited playing Subbuteo and everyone got an all white kit.

 

What about when we accidentally trod on something, and broke it!!.
I ended a few players careers by destroying them like that, and not even a carefully placed blob of airfix glue could put it right.

 

I accidentally put mine in the loft.

 

The old celluloid figures were actually the best for playing the game, you could swerve them around defenders far better than the later solid figures.
My mate had Subbuteo cricket, that was great, I had Subbuteo Rugby which wasn't so good to play, but the goalkicker was brilliant.

 

I've never heard of the celluloid version, so I can't think of what it looked like.
Somebody once brought their Cricket version to school on the last day of term, which was the only time I played it. And the Rugby version looked really poor though.

 

Can't resist. They should have ironed the pitch though. I'd have called that game off myself...

 

The celluloid players were just flat printed cut outs, we got them from my mate's older brother, they looked a bit rubbish but were miles better for playing with. Sadly the two teams he gave us had Red and White stripes and Blue and White stripes.
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Remember the 'extras' you could get...
Better balls (ohh err!), sponge balls, smaller 5 a side cloth pitch, coloured nets, corner and side flags, officials, the stadium and fans, and my favourite... the ridiculous giant sized corner kickers and throw in takers.
Memories ehh!.

 

Wow, they really were just cardboard cut outs then lol. That one looks like Nat Lofthouse of Preston.

 

I had Spurs and Arsenal. I trod on one of the Arsenal players and had to mend his leg but he ended up a bit taller than the others so he was Tony Adams. I also weirdly had Bristol Rovers because I found the set going cheap on a car boot sale in Boston, Lincolnshire. How do I remember that from 40 years ago but cannot remember I've got something in the oven and it's burning?

 

There was one good thing about those butchered players, who had been broken lol.
I'd try and get artistic and paint a new kit on them, with some ludicrous results!.

 

Sacrilege to many, but I thought it was a terrible game. Super Striker on the other hand was top notch. For a start, the manufacturers had worked out the players are bigger than the ball.