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 debuting on the front page of the first issue. After 22 years of continued popularity, the strip was judged successful enough to sustain its own weekly comic, the eponymous "Roy of the Rovers", launched on 25 September 1976. The comic ran for 851 issues, until 20 March 1993, and included other football strips and features. At the peak of the comic's success about 450,000 copies were sold each week. There were also hardback annuals and holiday specials featuring a mix of reprinted and original content, and for a brief period, starting in 1986, Roy of the Rovers was serialised in