When Saturday Comes
Encyclopedia
When Saturday Comes is a monthly magazine
about football
, first published in London
in 1986. "It aims to provide a voice for intelligent football supporters, offering both a serious and humorous view of the sport, covering all the topics that fans are likely to talk about, whether serious or trivial." WSC is still edited by Andy Lyons, who originally founded the magazine along with Mike Ticher.
. However, by 1988 it had developed and came to prominence, available in newsagents nationwide.
The following year its profile was raised again by its coverage of the Albania
vs. England World Cup qualifying match, and its circulation reached 20,000.
In the early-1990s the magazine began to take on advertising, and increased to 48 pages.
, Nick Hornby
and Simon Kuper
.
The WSC website lists 408 writers.
. WSC Books has so far published 14 books, including Tor!, a history of German football
.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
about football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, first published in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1986. "It aims to provide a voice for intelligent football supporters, offering both a serious and humorous view of the sport, covering all the topics that fans are likely to talk about, whether serious or trivial." WSC is still edited by Andy Lyons, who originally founded the magazine along with Mike Ticher.
History
The magazine started out in 1986 as a bi-monthly, independently-published fanzineFanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
. However, by 1988 it had developed and came to prominence, available in newsagents nationwide.
The following year its profile was raised again by its coverage of the Albania
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
vs. England World Cup qualifying match, and its circulation reached 20,000.
In the early-1990s the magazine began to take on advertising, and increased to 48 pages.
Writers
While the magazine now employs professional writers (the September 2009 issue credited 15 journalists as being "regular contributors") it still commissions articles by fans. A number of guest writers have also written for the magazine, including Cris FreddiCris Freddi
Cris Freddi is a British author.Freddi was born in Reading, England. He was educated at Reading School and then Oxford University, where he was lead singer in the Les Milkins Band. Since then, he has written books on sport, short stories and novels. He has also written articles for the football...
, Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
and Simon Kuper
Simon Kuper
Simon Kuper is a British author. He writes about sports "from an anthropologic perspective."Kuper was born in Uganda of South African parents in 1969, and moved to Leiden in the Netherlands as a child, where his father, Adam Kuper, was a lecturer in anthropology at Leiden University. He has also...
.
The WSC website lists 408 writers.
Regular features
- Private EyePrivate EyePrivate Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
-esque cover — Genuine photos of players or managers, with topical, humorous but fictional speech bubbles superimposed. For example, the September 2009 cover featured the headline "HIGH HOPES FOR THE NEW SEASON", with a photo of Jermain DefoeJermain DefoeJermain Colin Defoe is an English footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and the England national football team....
'saying' "Sixth place would be nice".
- Editorial — an introductory article written by the editor on a topical subject.
- Screen test — An old football video is the subject of this article, in which the journalist often highlights the way in which football (and, often, video technology) has changed since the video was made.
- Sharp End — clubs in financial or managerial crisis are discussed.
- Shot! — A photo feature.
- Shot! Archive
- Mike Straight — a talkSPORTTalkSPORTTalksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
parody, in which a "talkBALLS" DJ discusses football. - Match of the Month — A two-page article on a notable match from the previous month.
- The Strange Case of... — an article investigating the demise into obscurity of a once-notable footballer.
- EURO view — a series of articles on European football stories.
- WORLD view — a series of articles on football in the wider world.
- Book reviews
- Letters
- Season in brief — a season from the past is analysed, in sections including "Went on to greater things", "disappearing from view", "Same place today" etc.
Books
In the 2000s, WSC branched out into book publishingPublishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
. WSC Books has so far published 14 books, including Tor!, a history of German football
Football in Germany
Association football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
.
External links
- WSC official website
- Articles marking the 25th year of publication were published in April 2011 by The Guardian and Independent newspapers