Article about Sheffield United programmes

[Dorking]

Article about Sheffield Utd programmes, which started in 1897

No plans to stop producing a printed programme, and the programmes there are profitable

www.thepinch.substack.com/p/sh.....medium=web

[safc66]

Anyone looking for any Sheffield United homes 1st team or reserves from 1902 to 1937 please send me a PM.

[manchesterunitedman1]

Dorking wrote:

Article about Sheffield Utd programmes, which started in 1897 No plans to stop producing a printed programme, and the programmes there are profitable www.thepinch.substack.com/p/sh.....medium=web

Link does not work, says it uses unsupported protocol[whatever that refers too!] I am a simple collector with a few odds n ends chucked into a shoe box.
_________________
To see 20,00++ original items relating to Newton Heath & Manchester Utd 1878-2023 then visit www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterunitedman1/sets to see entire uploads.

1000's more images to be uploaded, to view the latest uploads go to www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterunitedman1/

Click any images 23+ MILLION views to date to the Flickr site since 2007 growing every day. New Uploads weekly. Thank You to one & all for visiting!

[colchestersid]

https://thepinch.substack.com/p/sheffield-united-matchday-programme-history

[colchestersid]

'Programmes, three quid': the history of the football programme
From the tentative first edition in 1897 to the ubiquitous "programmes, three quid!" of today, we delve into the creative well of Sheffield United's club programme
Mar 6
Words: Philip Whitaker

A big element of my matchday experience over the past 50 years has been buying a programme from every United game I’ve attended. To me, they bring back memories of going to a specific game and of all the players I’ve seen in the red and white. Sadly, however, it seems like this tradition might be dying out.

The decline of the printed programme
A talkSPORT investigation revealed that the declining sales and increased production costs have caused many clubs to cease producing printed programmes. Most clubs reported that just 10-20 per cent of their attendance now buy a programme.

EFL clubs voted in 2018 to scrap mandatory printed programmes. Across the EFL, 13 clubs have now scrapped theirs. In the Championship, Blackburn, Millwall and Reading have all ceased production alongside Swansea City and Bristol City, who only offer online editions.


Good news - no changes planned for UTB anytime soon!
The comforting news for United fans comes from Matthew Young, editor of UTB, United’s official programme. He explained that UTB is still very much profitable and that there is a strong appetite from Blades fans for a printed edition. United are also in the middle of a current contract where terms are set, so expect nothing to change anytime soon!

The Pinch is a reader-supported publication. For new posts and to support our work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Type your email…
Subscribe
A quality programme from a quality club
United’s programme is one of, if not the best in the Championship. The 100 pages are crammed full of interesting articles and information alongside the usual adverts.

This has been recognised by the experts in the field. For both our two recent seasons in the Premier League we came second in the Premier Progs Programme of the Season Award, winning the silver medal behind Norwich City in 2020/21 and West Ham United in 2019/20.

The impressive review of our 2020/21 lockdown season edition concluded by stating:

There are few programmes elsewhere in English football that offer the range of content included in UTB, with each issue offering up fascinating insights into the club’s past.

Works of art
Artwork from Nick (Arty) Bianco has appeared on the front cover for the past two seasons. I contacted Nick to learn a little more about his work.

The Pinch: Which cover is your favourite?

Arty Bianco: There have been a few, for very different reasons. I really liked the Christmas in August rehash I did for the first game of the season, with it being 30 years since the original – I'd drawn the image for our Christmas programme the year before but it had obviously been called off. I also really liked the Brooks programme last year because I was told he’d really appreciated and liked it.

The one I think captures the best likeness and character of a player is my shushing Bill image from last year. It just really smacks of the GOAT, in my opinion. I could probably go on about all of them, but my other favourite was probably my Slav programme. It’s weird, I know, but it was my first. Weirder still: I’ve got it signed and framed in my kitchen.


Where do you get your ideas for each front cover?

It totally depends. Sometimes there will be a big anniversary or we’ll be playing someone where there’s an obvious link to a player, such as Coventry and Fleck this year or Bournemouth and Brooks last year, but most of the time it’s done game by game. I usually work on a basis of a current player one home game then something a little more historic the following.

It’s obviously a lot easier when we’re doing well! I do like to try and get as many of the current first team on at least one programme a season. That’s not always easy though, as unless they score it can seem a bit random.

How long does it take for you to work your magic on each cover?

Longer than it should. I'm really slow. They’ll take roughly a full day - maybe a couple depending on how many players are featured.

A fascination with General Moshe Dayan
I started my collection after attending my first United game v Newcastle United in 1973. Back in the 1970s, other than the Star, Green ’Un or occasional articles in Shoot, this was the only printed United content you could get your hands on. I spent my teenage years extending my collection by buying programmes from the early 1970s at the old Sheffield programme shop on Shalesmoor.

One striking front cover picture that fascinated me as a child was the picture of a man with a black eyepatch being presented to a line of United players that included Alan Woodward and Len Badger.


This was on the cover of the programme v Man City on 12 February 1972 and had been taken on United’s recent tour of Israel, when they played a friendly against the international team on 1 February 1972 in front of 40,000. The guest of honour presented to United was the Israeli Defence Minister, General Moshe Dayan.

Dayan had lost an eye in WW2 when a French bullet hit the binoculars he was using to scan the French positions across the river. He was popular in Israel at the time as he had overseen the capture of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War in June 1967 and chose the visit of United to attend his first football match.

Early beginnings
A short section on the history of our programme is included in “A Complete Record of Sheffield United 1889-1999” by Denis Clareborough and Andrew Kirkham.

United’s first programme was issued during the 1897-98 season. It was eight pages long, cost one penny and was printed by JW Northend of 8 Norfolk Row, Sheffield – a local printing company formed in 1889 that still, like United, exists today.

During the Second World War, the programme was reduced to a single sheet or four-page edition with a reduction in cost. Government restrictions on the use of paper after the war reduced the size of the programme and an eight-page programme didn’t return until 1952, when the price was increased to 3d (old pence).


The early 1950s saw the introduction of the classic pocket-sized programmes which remained the style until the early 1970s. Photographs were rarely used until the 1953-54 season, when black-and-white photos taken by the Sheffield Telegraph began to appear. The size had increased to 12 pages for the same price of 3d.


A weekly publication called the Football League Review, published by the Football League, was also included in the centre of United’s programme for the 1968/69 season (Volume 3) and remained for the following six seasons. This was a popular, colourful production which folded in 1975 partly due to clubs producing more magazine-style programmes.


Adverts
Through the post-war period right up to the 1970s, United’s programme featured prominent adverts for Wardonia Blades, with the slogan “For Better Shaves”. These were made by Thomas Ward and Sons - a local and apt supporter for the mighty Blades. Their Wardonia Works workshop (now renamed Chaucer Yard) on Countess Road was just a goal kick from the old player’s entrance on John Street.


Other regular advertisers were Fox Furriers (fur coats and wraps) who had a shop on Rockingham Gate, Jubilee Stout brewed at the Hope and Anchor Brewery on Clay Wheels Lane and Jack Archer the “Athletic Outfitter” on Bramall Lane.

Loyalty tokens
United’s first attempt at a loyalty points scheme started on 30 October 1965 for the game against Chelsea, when a black stamp appeared as a token on the front cover of the programme. In total, 27 tokens were issued that season for first and reserve team games, to be cut out of the programme and glued onto a token sheet.

Changing styles
United’s first attempt to produce a larger and better-quality programme packed with more information and black and white photos started for the 1970/71 promotion season. With the introduction of decimalisation, the price changed from 1s to 5p on 14 February 1971.

The programme for the 1971/72 season came third in the list of top 20 programmes, as voted by the British Programme Collectors Club. By 1973/74, the Lane Line Up took on a more modern style, with a new red background and funky ’70s lettering copied from the logo of the 1970 Mexico World Cup.

A controversial innovation came the following season, when United switched to a new letterbox-shaped programme to “fit in your pocket without being screwed up”. With less space on the page, the programme increased from 16 to 24 pages and was accompanied by a price rise to 10p.


While this season resulted in United’s highest finish and the Tony Currie goal v West Ham, the change wasn’t well received and was dumped for the following relegation season in 1975/76. The format has since remained similar, apart from in 1978/79 and thirty years later in 2008/09 when United switched to a squarer format for a single season.

Cover story
The front covers typically featured action shots from previous games or pictures of players. Artwork also appeared on the front cover on special occasions. In the early 1970s, United ran a Christmas Cover Competition. The winners were Miss June Middleton with a snowman wearing a red and white scarf in 1971 and Stephanie Grayson of Grenoside in 1972 with a drawing of Santa’s gifts for a young Blade.


The first tentative steps to the artwork we see today came in 2012/13, with a series of five covers based on local artist Luke Prest’s collection, “A Day at the Lane”.

Value
In 2012, a family from Ipswich managed to make around £46,000 from auctioning a set of football programmes they had stumbled across in their house. However, before you get too excited and rush into the loft, it’s only certain programmes that will hold value for collectors.

The most prized programmes will be very old (pre-Second World War), rare, popular (a notable game or player featured on the cover) and in good condition. The single-sheet programme from the 1901 FA Cup Final replay, when United lost to Southern League Tottenham Hotspur at Burnden Park, Bolton, sold for £15,000 at Sotheby’s New Bond Street in 2013.

This was overshadowed by a world-record £30,000 sale in the same auction for the earliest-known surviving programme from an FA Cup Final, played at the Kennington Oval between Old Etonians and Blackburn Rovers on 25 March 1882.


A copy of the very rare programme for the FA ‘Khaki Cup’ final, when United beat Chelsea 3-0 at Old Trafford on 24 April 1915, was sold at auction recently for £12,000. The programme from United’s last FA Cup victory in 1925 was sold recently by a local trader for £895, and you can buy a copy of the programme from the 1936 FA Cup Final v Arsenal for just £295.

Often it is the single-page team sheets – which look worthless – that prove to hold the most value: rare examples from County Cups can fetch £15-£20. Another rare team sheet programme is for the hastily-arranged FA Cup third round replay v Huddersfield Town in 1957. This was played at 2pm the following Monday afternoon in front of 25,537, less than 48hrs after the original game.

Modern issues tend to lose their value very quickly because there are so many available. Prices in general have also been declining steadily – even the rare ones have been losing value. There just aren’t that many serious collectors around, the hobby is declining, and people aren’t willing to pay what they would have even ten years ago.

At the Sheffield Programme and Memorabilia Fair between Christmas and New Year, it was fascinating to see the full range of local football memorabilia on offer and to meet other serious collectors and traders. The attendance was 139, with just 17 under 16s. While United have no plans to change anything soon, the advance of the digital age means the storied programme faces an uncertain future.

[Dorking]

Thank you Sid

[sharrowblade]

Dorking wrote:

Thank you Sid

To echo Dorking, yes thank you Sid.

It should also be noted that the recent rise in United's programme sales over the last few seasons co-incided with the rise in success on the pitch, higher attendances, a new design, and a willingness to actually put some effort into it. Before the pandemic struck sales had increased year on year. since the change of design to a solid spine, and smaller compact size. The only downside is the small type set but its arguably the standard is still way ahead of most programmes in the championship

With regards to the Sheffield Programme Fair, I thought it was encouraging to see some youngsters there, 17 is a decent number by today's standards.

The attendance was up by 47% from 95 (the last one in 2019) to 139.
I was told in the week before that if I got 50-60 we would have done well.
_________________
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharrowblade/sets
A Sheffield United Programme guide