Stuck on You: The Rise & Fall... & Rise of Panini Stickers

by Greg Lansdowne

Stuck On You charts the history of football stickers in the UK - those little bundles of self-adhesive joy that have given so much to so many since Panini burst on to the scene in the late 1970s. Immerse yourself in a story of bitter rivalry, media moguls and the seedy underbelly of what can be a surprisingly murky business. Discover how upstarts Merlin took on the might of Panini and beat them at their own game - only for the Italian giants to hit back with the weight of nostalgia behind them. But ultimately you're invited to wallow in wistful memories of swapping in the school playground, shinies and recurring doubles. Featuring interviews with many of the industry's leading historical players and images from some familiar and lesser-known collections, Stuck On You is a must-read for anyone who has ever spent months, if not years, hankering after the St Mirren badge.

Genres: Football, Nonfiction

207 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2015

Reviews

[Raúl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book about the history of football cards in the UK. As a Spanish collector, I didn’t know much about British cards and stickers, but I enjoyed the read nonetheless. And, actually, I learned a lot about that hobby in the islands. It turns out collecting habits of people over there are very similar to those around here.

There are some insights to the distribution and retail business which are very interesting and make the reading experience much more enjoyable.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read which triggered a nostalgia tsunami.
As well as giving an insight into the cutthroat business of producing stickers, the book also provides many anecdotes and lesser known facts about historical collections and what went in to producing them.
Absolutely brilliant.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant book finished it off in two days, and went straight through mine and brothers collections over the years working out how much we and our parents have spent, doesn’t bear thinking about ...

[Bob Makin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3.5. Pretty interesting but jumps all over in places

[Russell Bedford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing insight and helped relive many memories as well as diving into just how varied the business behind the stickers can be. Well worth a read

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the opening line:"How did my life get to the point where a national newspaper photographer was coming round to my house to take pictures of a 40-year-old with his sticker albums?" to the back cover this book was a treat.

Around half of this book is focused on the business side of things, how the upstarts from Merlin took on Panini and Robert Maxwell. But there is plenty of sticker nostalgia in there too.

For all the books I have rated on goodreads, I doubt any meant as much at the time as Panini's Mexico 86, Football 87 and Euro 88. Or even Brazil 2014, stickers bought for my Godson that ended up in my own book... This book taps in to that feeling.

5 stars for sticker fans, 4 stars for everyone else.

[Kevin Coaker · Rating 1 out of 5]

The magic of collecting Panini stickers totally lost in this dull corporate story of takeovers and marketing plans zzzz

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting trip down memory lane and insight into the world of football collectables.