1979/80

Programme Reviews

Key

PP = Total Pages

Net = Total Pages Less Adverts

P = Perfect Bound

S = Stapled

Arsenal (v Middlesbrough 15/09/79)

£0.20 (16 pp / 15.5 net / S)

Aston Villa (v Derby County 01/03/80)

£0.30 (16 pp / 13.5 net / S)

Bolton Wanderers (v West Bromwich Albion 08/09/79)

£0.20 (28 pp / 17.5 net / S)

Brighton & Hove Albion (v Liverpool 10/11/79)

£0.20 (24 pp / 14 net / S)

Bristol City (v Nottingham Forest 25/09/79)

£0.30 (32 pp / 26 net / S)

Bristol City’s ‘The Robin’ billed itself as “The Big Match Companion for City Supporters”. This was an excellent 32-page programme, containing the second largest number of pages of content of any programme in the division. Inside the programme were details of subscriptions to this “new-style match day magazine”, with prices starting at £9.75, including a free binder!

Visitors Nottingham Forest were introduced in ‘Brief Encounter’, which remarked on Forest’s recent transition from a mid-table Division Two side to European champions, under the guidance of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. The feature then profiled the Forest squad, with a focus on £1 million striker Trevor Francis. A separate feature expanded on the remarkable turnaround in Forest’s fortunes, noting the many trophies won and the club’s then record run of 42 league matches unbeaten. In addition to the usual content afforded the visiting club, ‘The Robin’ included additional columns, with a ‘Form’ feature noting the club’s recent results and transfer activity, while ‘Dangerman’ profiled Forest goalkeeper Peter Shilton. ‘Flashback’ recalled a meeting between City and Forest in October 1972, which had ended in a 1-1 draw.

In terms of City related content, the programme included an in-depth ‘Team Talk’ column from City manager Alan Dicks, while ‘Robins Day-to-Day’ was a diary feature of recent developments at the club. ‘Between You, Me, and the Goalpost’ was another detailed article, which considered the early season form of various City players, with ‘Seen at City’ taking the form of an interview with City’s commercial manager Tony Rance. ‘Robins Nest’ was a feature looking at one City player off the field – here taking striker Tom Ritchie as its subject.

‘Topic’ was an in interesting two-page feature that looks at the international caps achieved by English players at top-flight clubs over the previous five years. The article noted City’s lack of recent representation at international level and examined the link between call ups for a country and the success of a player’s club. Bristol City’s stats section was suitably detailed, including results, line-ups, and tables for the first team and reserves. There was also a page devoted to City’s youth team that featured a couple of articles, while there were also several other pages of news and updates from around the club, completing an impressively comprehensive offering for Robins fans.

‘The Robin’ was a gem of a programme, outshining most others in the league, and proving to be somewhat ahead of its time in terms of the depth of coverage it provided.

Coventry City (v Norwich City 01/09/79)

£0.30 (24 pp / 18.5 net / S)

Crystal Palace (v Arsenal 10/11/79)

£0.25 (24 pp / 19.5 net / S)

Derby County (v Ipswich Town 17/11/79)

£0.25 (16 pp / 11.5 net / S)

Derby’s ‘Ram Magazine’ was a 16-page programme with 11.5 pages of content – the fewest of any in the league. However, despite the low page count the programme included a range of articles that offered plenty of reading content.

The front cover of the Derby issue was rather unusual in that it featured a ‘Cover Comment’ column next to the usual photograph and match details. For this issue against Ipswich Town, the column referred to the club’s injury crisis with Bruce Rioch and Gordon Hill having joined the ranks of the injured in the previous week’s win at Bristol City. The section also mad reference to some charitable work undertaken by the club, with players and staff having £1 deducted from their wages each week in favour of the club’s chosen charity.

Manager Colin Addison penned a column in which he noted he had “read the riot act” to his team a few weeks earlier following three straight defeats. Two league wins in a row since then suggested his players had got the message! ‘Rams News & Views’ contained more information on Derby’s charity work as well as providing details of a testimonial arranged for David Nish, who in 1972 had broken the British transfer record when moving to Derby for £225,000, but whose Rams career had been cut short by injury.

‘Secretary Talking’ featured the thoughts of Michael Dunford who commented on the relationship between the Derby management team and the fans and the regular ‘Meet the Manager’ nights held around the area. Bruce Rioch was the subject of ‘In Profile’ with the Derby midfielder discussing his fight to overcome injury problems. The feature also noted that Rioch made no secret of his interest in pursuing a career in management once his playing days were over (something he would of course achieve, with Middlesbrough, Bolton, and Arsenal among the sides he took charge of).

The programme offered a letters page, while there was coverage of previous matches in ‘Fotofile’, which here featured shots of both goals scored in the win at Ashton Gate a week earlier. ‘Rams at a Glance’ was a two-page stats section covering the first team and reserves, which also included an action picture from Derby’s last home game against West Bromwich Albion. Coverage of matchday opponents Ipswich Town was limited to just over a page, which included a team group picture, notes on the club’s form, a profile of manager Bobby Robson, and brief notes on the players.

Despite being among the smaller programmes in the 1979/80 season, ‘Ram Magazine’ still offered some worthwhile content. The issue was also expanded by the inclusion of the 16-page ‘Programme Plus’ supplement to offer more in-depth reading for Rams fans.

Everton (v Manchester United 27/10/79)

£0.20 (16 pp / 13.5 net / S)

Ipswich Town (v Coventry City 12/04/80)

£0.25 (24 pp / 17.5 net / S)

Leeds United (v Aston Villa 19/04/80)

£0.25 (24 pp / 17.5 net / S)

Liverpool (v Bristol City 06/10/79)

£0.25 (32 pp / 24.5 net / S)

Manchester City (v Southampton 08/09/79)

£0.25 (24 pp / 20 net / S)

Manchester United (v Leeds United 08/12/79)

£0.20 (24 pp / 16 net / S)

‘United Review’ had seen an increase in price since the previous season, rising from 15p to 20p. The programme was however still among the cheapest in the league with United and six other clubs now charging 20p and with six issues costing 30p.

The cover for the home game against Leeds United featured Ray Wilkins in action. Wilkins had moved to Manchester United for a club record fee of £825,000 in the summer of 1979, following Chelsea’s relegation to Division Two. Inside programme, manager Dave Sexton penned a column in which he praised United’s “character and fighting spirit” that at the time had them top of the table. ‘United Action’ featured two pages of pictures from a 5-0 win against Norwich City in the club’s previous home game, while a separate image showed Kevin Moran in action at United’s 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur. The centre-pages meanwhile contained a colour picture of United midfielder Lou Macari.

‘From Past to Present’ was one of the best sections in the issue. Across two pages, the feature offered several articles related to Leeds, including a Daily Mirror press cutting from 1970, which contained a match report for a 2-2 draw between Manchester United and Leeds. Tony Pullein offered comments on Leeds’ struggles in the first half of the season that saw them sit in the bottom half of the table, only a few points above the relegation zone. The feature also included words on the great success enjoyed by the Yorkshire club in the mid-60s and early 70s, as well as offering a column on John Charles, who was described in the article as “arguably the finest player ever produced by Leeds United”.

‘Fan-Fare’ was a supporters’ column that included upcoming travel arrangements and information about the Supporters Club’s newsletter, while the programme also contained a page of letters from fans. There was a one-page interview with Harry Gregg on the subject of becoming a goalkeeper, while David Meek’s column looked at United’s attendance figures, with the club being the best supported in the league for the season to date. Meek also noted that the day’s fixture pitted United’s Joe Jordan and Gordon McQueen against their former club. ‘For the Record’ was a thoroughly comprehensive two-page stats section, with information on United’s first-team, reserves, and youth team.

Despite the increase in price from the previous season, United Review continued to offer good value for money, with several readable articles and comprehensive stats.

Middlesbrough (v Wolverhampton Wanderers 20/10/79)