Today’s On This Day feature looks at Coventry City’s programme from the 1972/73 season. Read our review below and click here to see the other Division One issues from the season.
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.