Programme Reviews

Key

PP = Total Pages

Net = Total Pages Less Adverts

P = Perfect Bound

S = Stapled

 

Programmes marked with an asterisk (*) next to the number of pages also included the 24 page ‘League Football’ supplement.

 

Arsenal (v Leeds United 02/12/72)

£0.05 (16 pp / 15 net / S)

 

Birmingham City (v Manchester City 09/09/72)

£0.08 (24 pp / 20.5 net / S)

 

Chelsea (v Wolverhampton Wanderers 06/03/73)

£0.05 (20 pp / 19 net / S)

 

Coventry City (v Everton 02/12/72)

£0.08 (16 pp / 11.5 net / S)

The quality of Coventry’s ‘Sky Blue’ programme had suffered since the departure of editor John Elvin in 1971. The issue produced for the 1972/73 season was slightly shorter than the A4-size edition published the season before and had far fewer pages – just 16 compared with the 28 in 1971/72. The price of the programme had also increased, from 5p to 8p.

Coventry boss Joe Mercer penned the opening column in the programme. For the issue against Everton, he responded to suggestions that the offside law should be abolished with the idea that teams should instead be rewarded with points for scoring goals, in order to encourage attacking football.

‘Sky Blues Opponents’, penned by Alan Williams of the Daily Express, looked at Coventry’s visitors for the day, here welcoming Everton to Highfield Road. Williams noted the decline in the club’s form following a positive start to the season under Harry Catterick. Some well-written player profiles then accompanied a team group picture of the Toffees.

The centre-pages of the programme displayed two full-page colour pictures. One of these showed Everton midfielder Henry Newton, while the other – headed ‘Sky Blue Action’ – presented an image from Coventry’s previous home game against West Ham, with Willie Carr taking a shot at goal. A ‘Junior Fan Club’ page included updates on the progress of Coventry’s youngsters in the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup, while a twenty-question quiz gave supporters the opportunity to win “pewter tankards superbly engraved with the new official club crest”!

‘Personality Parade’ meanwhile pulled together various news items, including the international prospects of various Coventry players. There was a page of ‘Sky Blues Facts & Figures’, including results and fixtures as well as tables for the first team and reserves, the latter of which showed the Sky Blues sitting proudly atop the Central League. As with the previous season the back page featured the ‘Sky Blue Girl of the Match’, which more than anything dates the programme to a very different era from ours.

The decline in Coventry’s programme following Elvin’s departure as editor was stark, with this issue offering little in the way of the quality of content or imaginative design that it had offered a couple of seasons before. The limited reading on offer suffered greatly by comparison with Elvin’s efforts and could not justify the 60% price increase from the previous season.

 

Crystal Palace (v Arsenal 21/10/72)

£0.07 (20 pp / 19 net / S)

 

Derby County (v Southampton 17/02/73)

£0.07 (16 pp / 10 net / S)

 

Everton (v Newcastle United 30/09/72)

£0.08 (24 pp / 19 net / S)

 

Ipswich Town (v West Bromwich Albion 17/03/73)

£0.06 (20 pp * / 12 net / S)

 

Leeds United (v Sheffield United 11/11/72)

£0.05 (16 pp * / 6 net / S)

The Leeds United programme for the 1972/73 season was a 16-page issue. The programme was heavily dominated by advertising, meaning that there was only six pages of content included.

The front cover of the programme featured a team group picture of visitors Sheffield United together with the expected line-ups from the day. Most of the reading provided in the programme focused on the visiting club. The lead article analysed Sheffield United’s form in the first few months of the season, noting their difficulties finding the net but nevertheless expecting a hard-fought derby match. A further article provided a short history of the club, detailing honours won, as well as various records and ‘firsts’ achieved by the Blades. Pen-pics of the visiting players were also included.

A news page referred to the goalscoring record of Leeds forward Peter Lorimer, who had recently notched his 100^th league strike for the club, whilst ‘The Man in the Middle’ profiled the referee for the day’s fixture – Mr Gordon Hill. Leeds United’s results and fixtures for the season were included on the centre pages, with tables for the first team, reserves, and youth teams provided separately.

The Leeds issue for 1972/73 was a good example of a programme that was reliant on the insertion of the ‘League Football’ supplement to provide meaningful content. With the exception of the visitors coverage, this was an issue lacking much in the way of reading material, with more than half the page count being taken up by adverts.

 

Leicester City (v Derby County 10/03/73)

£0.07 (20 pp / 14.5 net / S)

 

Liverpool (v Birmingham City 02/12/72)

£0.05 (16 pp * / 13.5 net / S)

 

Manchester City (v Norwich City 19/08/72)

£0.05 (24 pp / 18 net / S)

 

Manchester United (v Liverpool 11/11/72)

£0.05 (16 pp / 13 net / S)

 

Newcastle United (v Coventry City 10/02/73)

£0.07 (16 pp / 11.5 net / S)

 

Norwich City (v Stoke City 30/08/72)

£0.07 (16 pp / 12.5 net / S)

For Norwich’s first season in the top tier of English football, the club produced a 16-page programme costing 7p.

The programme for this early season clash with Stoke City features a team group picture on the inside front-cover, followed by a column from manager Ron Saunders. ‘Carrow Road Notebook’ recalls Stoke’s last competitive visit to Carrow Road in the 1962/63 season, when the Canaries ran out 6-0 winners. The Stoke team that day featured Stanley Matthews, whose picture is included next to the article.

Coverage of Stoke City features prominently in the first half of the programme, with a dedicated two-page feature. This includes a team group picture (including the League Cup that the Potters had won at Wembley the previous March) and short biographies of the playing squad and manager Tony Waddington. The back page of the programme also has Stoke related content, with a picture and notes on captain Peter Dobing.

‘Notes from the Secretary’s Desk’ features ticketing and travel arrangements for Norwich supporters, with ‘Canaries Away’ also providing details of the upcoming trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United. There is a detailed first-team stats section, with fixtures, results and tables for the first team and reserves. The section also notes that a young Canaries ‘A’ Team was playing in the Eastern Counties League and had recently triumphed 3-1 against Chatteris Town!

Ultimately, the programme lacks much in the way of notable reading material, though it does at least cover the basics effectively and coverage of the visiting team is well handled.

 

Sheffield United (v West Ham United 10/03/73)

£0.06 (16 pp / 14 net / S)

 

Southampton (v Tottenham Hotspur 02/12/72)

£0.05 (20 pp / 13 net / S)

 

Stoke City (v Manchester United 14/04/73)

£0.06 (16 pp / 13.5 net / S)

 

Tottenham Hotspur (v Crystal Palace 09/09/72)

£0.05 (16 pp / 14.5 net / S)

 

West Bromwich Albion (v Chelsea 10/03/73)

£0.06 (16 pp / 16 net / S)

 

West Ham United (v Ipswich Town 02/03/73)

£0.05 (20 pp / 17 net / S)

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers (v Leicester City 26/12/72)

£0.07 (24 pp / 17.5 net / S)