This is the sixth issue of TSB’s 34th season, riding dragons to promotion with our Welsh contingent.
Our cover art celebrates three of our pals from Cymru, drawn by their proud countryman Rhys Lowry.
There’s unbelievable much inside this issue, all of it unbelievable good.
- Rob Conlon on Reg Park, the former Leeds reserve who inspired Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Our columnist Gaetano Berardi — yes, him! — writes about how good it feels when Elland Road gives you a song
- We take a tour through some of our lesser known connections to the land of daffodils
- Your favourite TSB contributors write about Georginio and his horse, Ethan Ampadu in Italy, full-backs, myths, and reputations
- Click here to preview everything inside this issue
- Subscribe to get this issue cheap with TSB+ — click here for info
How do I subscribe? Or read online?
Click here for more info on subscribing, and choose either TSB+ Mag or TSB Magazine.
Getting the magazine delivered to your home is a very good idea, as it will arrive free of beer stains and torn corners, unless your postie is having a bad morning.
The best way to buy The Square Ball is to subscribe and get every regular issue delivered to your home for the next twelve months.
That way we know how many to print, and we have the money up front to pay the printer. We’ll post anywhere in the world and you won’t miss an issue.
You can get £10 off a subscription to the paper magazine if you buy an annual membership of TSB+. TSB+ gets you all our podcasts advert free, early access and live streaming video of The Match Ball podcast, a digital sub to the magazine, a daily email, discounts and more — and that tenner off getting the paper version delivered.
If you don’t want to subscribe — why not?! — you can buy this issue on its own by clicking here, and we’ll post it out as soon as it’s printed.
Can I buy the magazine at Elland Road?
As always since 1989, barring pandemics and badly timed World Cups, The Square Ball magazine will be on sale outside Elland Road, for the match against Leicester on Friday 23rd February 2024. Just look out for our windswept but friendly sellers by the Lowfields tunnel, Billy’s Statue, the Kop gates, and anywhere else someone is holding a fanzine in the air, until about fifteen minutes before kick-off.
I’m a TSB+ member, where is the online magazine?
TSB+ members can read the magazine online now, either of two ways:
What else is in this issue?
Our now eleven times-nominated and two-times FSF Award winning fanzine, plus one for the podcast and as of 2022 one for ‘Fan Media’, includes lots of pages of articles and artwork about what used to be the pain but now is the glory which still involves pain of being a Leeds United supporter, for more than 100 long, long years.
Can I read something now? For free? Ah go on?
Free to read from this issue is an article by Moxco about Georginio, horses and his creative, nocturnal life — click here to read that for free for free.
Also free in this issue, BBC Introducing’ Emily Pilbeam on new Leeds music — click here to read that one.
You can order paper copies of issue six from our online shop now, and they’ll be sent out as soon as they’re printed. To read a digital version online, please become a TSB+ member, with a one month free trial, here.
As Howard Wilkinson always used to say, thank you for your magnificent support. ⬢