Their focus at the time was invariably on Dennis Wise, Stan Collymore and Vinny Jones and there was almost a whiff of celebration of their misdemeanours on the pitch. They were "in-your-face" types and thereby role models for the characters these magazines sought to cultivate as their readership.
In the run-up to last Christmas there has been a spate of critical columns in the newspapers about more recent bad-boy footballer behaviour, both on and off the pitch. Highlights - if that is the appropriate term - were Manchester United's bonding party and Ashley Cole's V-sign to the Arsenal fans who used to pay his wages.
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