On This Day today features Middlesbrough’s programme for the 1995/96 season – their first at the Riverside Stadium. Read our programme review below and take a look at the other Premier League issues from 1995/96 here.
Middlesbrough’s programme for 1995/96 was one of the better top-flight issues for that season. With only the Chelsea and Arsenal issues containing more pages of content, there was plenty of space for some interesting features, with several historical articles catching the eye.
Probably the best of these was ‘Seasons in the Sun’, which looked back at the memorable moments from one season in Boro’s history. For the issue against Blackburn Rovers, the focus was on the 1975/76 season, in which Boro, under the management of Jack Charlton, reached the last four of the League Cup for the first time, only missing out on a place at Wembley following a two-legged semi-final defeat to Manchester City. Included within the article are some notes on Boro’s programme for the home leg against City, together with reproductions of the programme cover and Boro’s shirt for the season. The article noted that the club would ultimately pick up some silverware that season, triumphing in the Anglo-Scottish Cup by beating Fulham in the final.
In a similar vein, another article looked at Boro’s fortunes from 10 and 50 years ago, with detailed match reports and team line-ups. With Boro having just moved to the Riverside Stadium for the 1995/96 season, there were also notes looking back to the club’s first season at Ayresome Park in 1903/04. In other historical content ‘Legends’ contained an interview with a Boro start of the past – here featuring left midfielder David Armstrong, who made a club record 356 consecutive appearances for the club between 1973 and 1980.
In terms of contemporary club content, there was a brief article from boss Bryan Robson, a couple of pages of ‘Boro News’, and a ‘Boro Roll Call’, containing extensive stats on the club’s squad. ‘Reds Revealed’ asked questions of one first-team player, here featuring striker Jan-Aage Fjortoft, while defender Derek Whyte was the subject of ‘Riverside Reds’. The programme included action shots from previous matches, while fans were invited to submit articles about experiences following the club on the road in ‘Away Day Report’. The programme included a page each for the club’s youth and reserve teams and there was a basic first-team season spread at the back of the issue.
Coverage of visitors Blackburn Rovers was provided over three pages, starting with an interview with winger Stuart Ripley, formerly of Middlesbrough. The section also contained a run-down of Blackburn’s squad, including key stats, as well as a short profile of manager Ray Harford.
Perhaps as a consequence of the club’s recent stadium move, this programme gave a real sense of a club in touch with its history. Having picked up various programme awards for the quality of their issue in the second-tier the season before, Boro again produced a quality programme for their first season back in the top-flight.