1981/82

Programme Reviews

Key

PP = Total Pages

Net = Total Pages Less Adverts

P = Perfect Bound

S = Stapled

Arsenal (v West Bromwich Albion 16/03/82)

£0.35 (24 pp / 20 net / S)

Aston Villa (v Coventry City 27/02/82)

£0.35 (24 pp / 22.5 net / S)

Birmingham City (v Tottenham Hotspur 23/03/82)

£0.35 (24 pp / 20.5 net / S)

Brighton & Hove Albion (v Manchester City 03/10/81)

£0.30 (32 pp / 20.5 net / S)

Coventry City (v Stoke City 24/11/81)

£0.30 (20 pp / 15.5 net / S)

Everton (v Middlesbrough 13/03/82)

£0.30 (16 pp / 13.5 net / S)

Ipswich Town (v Leeds United 26/09/81)

£0.35 (24 pp / 19.5 net / S)

Leeds United (v West Ham United 28/11/81)

£0.30 (24 pp / 18.5 net / S)

The Leeds United programme opened with ‘Scene Setter’, which previewed the day’s match. For the fixture against West Ham United, the column noted the inclusion in the England squad that had just qualified for the 1982 World Cup of four Hammers players – Trevor Brooking, Alvin Martin, Alan Devonshire, and Paul Goddard. This was followed by a column from Leeds manager Allan Clarke and a picture of Aidan Butterworth heading home the winner for Leeds in their previous home game against Notts County. The centre-pages of the programme were taken up with a picture of defender Paul Hart in action, while winger Arthur Graham was shown honing his golfing skills on the club’s pre-season tour of Denmark.

Visitors West Ham United were welcomed over a couple of pages, with an introductory article noting the club’s positive form on their return to the top-flight, following three seasons in Division Two. The feature also referred to some of the club’s long-serving players with Billy Bonds having topped 500 appearances for the club the previous season and Frank Lampard also approaching that landmark. The visitors section included photographs of three Hammers players and ‘Match Pointers’, which looked at previous meetings between Leeds and West Ham.

There was a page of news from around the club, including some excitement at the prospect of Leeds’ first VHS colour-video cassette becoming available! ‘A to Z’ of Leeds provided statistics relating to the club’s performances down the years, with the West Ham issue focusing on the years between 1932 and 1936. The programme included a detailed stats section, which provided results, tables, and appearance details for the first team, reserves, and youth team. ‘Reserve Round-Up’ provided further information on the club’s second string, while club captain Kenny Burns also penned a column. ‘Behind the Scenes’ meanwhile provided a profile of one member of the Leeds staff, with the manager’s private secretary the subject of the interview in this issue.

The 1981/82 Leeds programme tended towards providing photographic and statistical content, and would have benefited from a little more in the way of readable features.

Liverpool (v Aston Villa 19/09/81)

£0.30 (28 pp / 21.5 net / S)

Manchester City (v Sunderland 19/12/81)

£0.30 (24 pp / 21 net / S)

Manchester United (v Arsenal 20/02/82)

£0.25 (24 pp / 20 net / S)

Middlesbrough (v Ipswich Town 05/12/81)

£0.30 (20 pp / 16 net / S)

Nottingham Forest (v Wolverhampton Wanderers 10/04/82)

£0.30 (24 pp / 19 net / S)

Notts County (v Brighton & Hove Albion 17/04/82)

£0.30 (16 pp / 12 net / S)

One of only three Division One clubs offering just 16 pages in 1981/82, the Notts County programme was one of the slighter issues in that season. The programme for the visit of Brighton & Hove Albion opened with Jimmy Sirrel’s manager’s notes, entitled ‘In Black & White’. Sirrel praised forward Iain McCulloch for his call-up to the Scotland under-21 squad for their forthcoming fixture against England, hoping that other County players would draw inspiration from the call-up. Sirrel also noted the team’s poor run of form, though that would be righted by a 4-1 win over Brighton that helped secure the club’s status in Division One for another season.

‘Terry Bowles Magpie Collection’ provided various snippets of news from the club, before a brief profile of defender Gary Wood in ‘At Home With’. ‘Action Replay’ provided action pictures from previous games, with the focus in the Brighton issue on the Easter Monday derby clash with local rivals Nottingham Forest. The visitors from the Goldstone Ground were covered across the centre pages of the programme, which contained player profiles, pictures of Mick Robinson and Andy Ritchie, and some commentary that noted Albion were on course for their best league placing. ‘Colin’s Corner’ offered views from the press box with Colin Slater, while there were also two pages of ‘Facts & Figures’. The programme concluded with ‘In Support’, written by Supporters’ Club Secretary Peter Dennis, while the expected line-ups for the day were presented on the back cover.

A somewhat limited programme then, without much in the way of readable material.

Southampton (v Notts County 17/10/81)