Our ‘On This Day’ feature for 3rd October takes us back to 1987 and the meeting of Oxford United and Norwich City at the Manor Ground. Read our programme review below and see all the Division One issues for 1987/88 here.
Oxford’s programme for their third (and currently most recent) Division One season was a 32-page issue. The programme benefitted from good use of colour in parts, and a simple, clean design.
The programme contained a decent amount of content, opening with brief notes from Oxford boss Maurice Evans, who remarked on how positive it was for the club to be in the First Division at a time when big names like Wolves, Burnley, and Sunderland were languishing in the lower leagues. A two-page ‘News and Views’ section by club Secretary Jim Hunt contained updates from around the club.
‘First Division Scene’ provided an update on developments from around the top-flight, noting the early season difficulties faced by Oxford’s matchday opponents Norwich City and the form of pace-setters Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea, (the latter of whom would end the season relegated.) The programme included a lengthy column on Oxford’s recently launched membership scheme, which had been introduced as clubs were coming under pressure from the government to tackle hooliganism, with the ongoing threat that clubs could be required to participate in a national membership scheme.
There was a one-page ‘Reserve & Youth Report’, containing news from the respective sides’ recent matches, whilst the first-team stats section was well laid out over two pages, including a picture of Oxford striker Dean Saunders celebrating a recent goal. One item worthy of note was that four Division One clubs (Oxford, Charlton, Luton, and Wimbledon) had, at the time, average attendances for the season of less than 10,000. ‘United Focus’ meanwhile had black and white action shots from recent games, while the centre-pages featured a colour picture of Oxford winger Peter Rhoades-Brown.
The issue included a very well-presented section on visitors Norwich City, making good use of the club’s colours and including a full-colour team group picture, a write-up of the club’s squad, and a ‘Spotlight’ section on Canaries’ striker Kevin Drinkell, who had notched 45 goals across the last two seasons.
A separate feature recalled ‘Previous Encounters with Norwich City’, with basic details of the various fixtures and a report from the meeting of the two clubs at the Manor Ground in the 1968/69 season. ‘Looking Back’ featured brief notes on the fortunes of Oxford and Norwich from 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago, while ‘Played for Both’ had profiles of six players who had pulled on both the Oxford and Norwich shirts during their career.
Neatly put together, the Oxford programme provided good value for money, costing 70p at a time when as many as six Division One clubs were charging £1 for their issues.