This interview is very different from what we usually cover, it’s about a subject/hobby that no doubt many of us of a certain age will reminisce about and look back on fondly and remember the many hours spent playing it as a kid, Subbuteo!
We caught up with Paul Darkes, an avid collector of all things Subbuteo and other football memorabilia and asked him about his amazing collection.
How long have you been collecting Subbuteo for?
I have always had Subbuteo around my life from the age of 10, but collecting seriously from about 2008, I ran a shop that bought and sold stuff for people online and bits of Subbuteo kept popping up, and it just rekindled my love of the game. Before long it gets you and it became an addiction.
Are you surprised to see Subbuteo making a comeback seeing that the big stores seem to be selling it again, what with most kids playing Video games nowadays?
Very surprised to be honest Dan, but the modern box sets are so disappointing and put together cheaply I just hope it does not put newcomers off, I also think it’s not so much kids that are getting into Subbuteo but middle-aged men reliving their youth in these sad times. Most of us wanted that stadium when we were younger but possibly could not afford it, now some folks have nowhere to spend anything on so they can I suppose.
Lockdown has definitely helped the Subbuteo revival, as before I think people were too busy getting on with their lives, no time.
The cottage industry ( non licensed Subbuteo sellers) with Subbuteo is booming as well, as there are many team painters, stadium builders etc enjoying the revival as well, as more and more get back into it, many YouTube videos, podcasts are also available, Hasbro need to listen to these people as the ideas they have will benefit the game, instead of churning out cheap box sets they currently sell, which will drive people away
Subbuteo Fruit machine.
What’s the rarest and most expensive Subbuteo item you have in your collection?
Proper tough question that one Dan, and I don’t know the proper answer. I have a fruit Machine which I have never seen another one so it must be that I think, not sure of worth but I will never sell it so worthless😂, also have a lovely ‘World of sport compendium set’ that is supposed to be the Holy Grail of Subbuteo but I have seen two of them for sale in the last couple of months so it can’t be! These sets have been fetching nearly £2k at auction as well, crazy!
Are there still Subbuteo tournaments and World cups?
Yes they are still around but I don’t understand fully all the different organisations so don’t get involved with them and I am rubbish at playing if you want an honest answer, 😂 covid stopped all tournaments at the moment, I am not a player, not played for 37 years, I just collect.
I must add that Subbuteo tournaments are taken very seriously, well I say Subbuteo tournaments, but hardly if any Subbuteo products are used in them, more like table football tournaments these days, the game has evolved so much now to how it was played back in the day, the modern teams and bases are geared for gameplay, and lots of company’s make them, Subbuteo I don’t think make any of the superior figures and bases at all needed for tournament play. The 8-1-1 formations at the start of a game disturb me as well but it’s how it has to done or you would lose every game 10-0 players are that good, but really it’s not Subbuteo, it’s Table football.
Crash barriers.
What is your favourite item in your collection?
Too difficult Dan, but I am a sucker for pointless accessories, more than any box set or team I have, my sealed packs of c185 crush barriers are totally brilliant for me, so simple, not to scale and totally useless really, but I love them. I have a pack opened for anyone who thinks it’s strange I like sealed stuff😂
Autographed by Alf Ramsey, Martin Peter’s, Keegan, Shilton, Dennis Law, Colin Bell…
My 1978 Subbuteo World Cup box set is a nice to look at set and that was my era and I also have an old set signed by some footballing greats, Sir Alf Ramsey included, and also have a Peter Aldoph autograph from 1953, the legend who stole (sorry invented the game😂) back in 1946. That’s a nice piece also. Limited addition Subbuteo Adidas Trimm Trab trainers are nice also, too hard to pick one tbh… And it changes daily 👍
Limited edition Subbuteo Adidas Trimm Trabs.
What team do you support and do they always win when you play Subbuteo against yourself 😂?
I have always been a fan of Bryan Robson, so I followed United a lot, but modern-day football is losing its appeal as I get older I think, but up until covid I loved nothing more than going to away games to watch Birmingham City with my mates, it’s a great day out eating, drinking and chatting rubbish all day and the actual game gets in the way to be honest.😂 Sometimes we don’t even go to the game if the weathers nice and drinks are cold 👍
Do you collect other football memorabilia?
If it’s from my era and means something to me then yes, my first World Cup I can remember was the 1978 Argentina one, which I know was fixed for the hosts to win, but I still love it, and collect things about it, which is hard to swallow as England never made it! I have an original Adidas Tango ball which my late father bought me back in 1978 and thankfully never let me kick around, (I had a cheaper one for that) and a pair of Tango football boots which I love, I have a few packs of sealed Panini stickers and a couple of complete Panini albums which were also big from my childhood, I used to love the football stuff you got from garages free with petrol back in the day like Esso etc, I love that stuff.
Original unused 78′ World Cup Tango football.
What’s the most money a Subbuteo item has ever sold for at auction?
I really don’t know, but this week 1 team from the 1990’s sold for £750, not even that old, job lots can fetch silly money as well, but some buy to make money and that’s just not me, as a collector I sell nothing normally, once you put money before collecting it’s time to stop collecting IMO, I am asked all the time, what’s your collection worth and always give the same answer, nothing, it’s never for sale… I would leave to a toy museum before I personally sold it, I will have to let my kids decide when my ship comes in I suppose but rather it all stayed together for generations to enjoy somewhere👍
Unopened Panini World Cup sticker packets dating back to 78′.
Finally, what is it about Subbuteo that has made you fall in love with the game?
Great question again Dan, I think for me it was the nostalgia of reliving what I had when I was younger, going to buy Subbuteo with your pocket money was a feeling of sheer joy back in the day, I think youngsters don’t understand this today, but it’s true, buying a team or accessories was a big deal and Subbuteo was the nearest thing we had to playing a realistic game of football, we had no computer games back then, Subbuteo was the closest you could get. Also when I mention my hobby of collecting Subbuteo no one says anything negative about it, only positive things, you may get the odd person say ‘Super Striker’ was better, (trust me it was not) just easier to play😂, I do have sets of Striker and Super Striker in my collection to remind me how good Subbuteo was 😂👍
Thanks for taking the time to speak with us at Awayday Radio Paul, it’s been a trip down memory lane for myself and hopefully for all others of a similar age.
Thank you I have really enjoyed doing this and just hope that if this encourages one person to take to collecting, stadium building, painting teams, or playing I will feel I have achieved what I wanted to do by doing it, thanks so much, kindest regards, Paul.
Keeping Subbuteo alive 👍
