Roy of the Rovers part. In the extreme, Roy would be the only player for Melchester. The game received mixed reactions; the Spectrum version received 7/10 from "Your Sinclair", but only 3/10 from "Sinclair User". A number of official Melchester Rovers Subbuteo teams were produced in the 1980s and 1990s. There was also an officially licensed board game in the 1980s, which saw players take on the role of Roy Race and manage the club. The Old Fashioned Football Shirt Company now makes officially licensed replica shirts. In 1990, "Roy Race" and footballer Gary Lineker released a single, "Europe United", described in the comic
Roy of the Rovers anchormen making appearances was a later development. When Roy announced his resignation as Rovers manager in 1992, he did so live on Sky Sports in front of shocked presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray. Roy was created by the author Frank S. Pepper, who had created the similar strip, Danny of the Dazzlers, but he only wrote four instalments of Roy of the Rovers, because of his commitments to another of his characters, Captain Condor. His role was taken by the strip's first artist Joe Colquhoun, who used the pen-name "Stewart Colwyn". He was replaced after four-and-a-half years by Derek