MANCHESTER CITY

GUIDE TO FOOTBALL PROGRAMMES

ISSUE NO 3 - 1948/49

WELCOME TO ISSUE 3 OF MY GUIDE TO MANCHESTER CITY PROGRAMMES. FOR 1948/49 SEASON THE "BLUE AND WHITE" PROGRAMMES WERE PRODUCED FOR ALL 21 HOME GAMES, VOLUME 43 NOW.

NO ADDITIONAL CUP GAMES OR FRIENDLIES WERE PLAYED DUE TO THEIR BEING NO HOME FRIENDLIES AND LOSING TO EVERTON AWAY IN THE FA CUP. THE CITY PROGRAMME STILL REMAINED AT 8 PAGES AND WAS STILL PRICED AT "TWOPENCE". THE FRONT COVER HAD A SIMILAR LAYOUT AS PER 46/47 AND 47/48 BUT THIS TIME "SMALLMANS CATERS" WERE THE NOW UNOFFICIAL CLUB SPONSORS!! TAKING OVER FROM "OXO"!! THANK GOD THERE WERE NO SPONSORS NAMES ON SHIRTS IN THOSE DAYS - I CAN HEAR THE OLD OXO JOKES ALREADY RESURFACING IF THEY WERE SPONSORING US TODAY!!

PAGES 2 AND 3 AGAIN CONSISTED OF "MAINE ROAD GOSSIP" GIVING NEWS AND VIEWS ABOUT THE CLUB - THE STOKE HOME PROGRAMME INCLUDES SOME NOTES ABOUT A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP AT WOOLTON GOLF CLUB IN LIVERPOOL AND HOW UNHAPPY CURRENT MANAGER JOCK THOMSON WAS AT BEING UNABLE TO ATTEND AS CITY WERE PLAYING THE DAY THE EVENT WAS TAKING PLACE!!

PAGES 4 AND 5 WERE AGAIN GIVING INFO ON THE OPPONENTS AND THE LINE UPS PAGE, PAGE 6 WAS NORMALLY TAKEN UP BY A PICTURE OF AN OPPOSING PLAYERS PORTRAIT WHO WE WERE PLAYING THAT DAY, PAGE 7 WAS THE FIXTURE INFO AND PLAYING STAFF INFO AND THE BACK PAGE WAS THE USUAL BRITISH RAILWAYS TRAIN ADVERT NORMALLY FOR THE FORTHCOMING AWAY GAMES.

THE MORE HARDER TO OBTAIN HOME PROGRAMMES FROM 48/49 ARE BURNLEY, CHARLTON, SHEFF UTD AND ARSENAL. THE BURNLEY GAME WAS JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS WHICH IS NOTABLE FOR A LOW GATE, CHARLTON WAS PROBABLY A REACTION TO GOING OUT OF THE CUP ATTRACTING 20,000, SHEFF UTD WAS ANOTHER LOW GATE ONLY 16,000 THIS TIME AND ARSENAL WAS THE LAST MATCH BUT NOT A VERY HIGH GATE AGAIN AND WAS PLAYED ON A WEDNESDAY. THE PRICE OF 48/49 HOMES IS PROBABLY BETWEEN £12 TO £17 WITH THE PROGRAMMES FOR THE GAMES ABOVE MAYBE REACHING £20 OR JUST OVER. AGAIN NO POSTPONED PROGRAMMES WERE PRODUCED SO NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT ON THAT SCORE. PICTURED OPPOSITE IS THE PROGRAMME FOR THE GAME AGAINST CHARLTON WHERE AFTER LOSING TO EVERTON IN THE CUP THE PREVIOUS WEEK HIT ANOTHER LOW BY LOSING THIS GAME 1-0.

A SELECTION OF AWAY PROGRAMMES FROM 48/49 SEASON

THE AWAY PROGRAMMES AGAIN IN SOME CASES ARE VERY RARE AND MOST WOULD APPEAR ON DEALERS OFFERS LISTS OR MAYBE ONLY APPEAR ON THEIR OFFERS LISTS ONCE IN 4/5 YEARS IN REGARD TO SOME OF THEM.

IN MY COLLECTION WHEN I ONLY NEEDED 4 PROGRAMMES 2 WERE FROM THIS SEASON WHICH WERE BIRMINGHAM AND PRESTON, BOTH WERE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON GAMES HENCE THAT’S WHY THERE VERY HARD TO GET. IN BOTH CASES THEY WOULD FETCH AROUND £100 EACH. I OBTAINED MY BIRMINGHAM IN A SWOP DEAL FOR 6 BIRMINGHAM HOME PROGRAMMES FROM 44/45 AND 45/46 SEASON THAT A COLLECTOR REQUIRED.

OTHER RARE OR EXPENSIVE PROGRAMMES FROM THIS SEASON INCLUDES SUNDERLAND,BURNLEY,STOKE, MIDDLESBOROUGH,MAN.UTD,WOLVES AND PORTSMOUTH - ALL THESE WOULD BE ON OFFERS LISTS ALSO AND WOULD FETCH OVER £30 EACH.

THERE ARE AGAIN A GREAT SELECTION OF AWAY FRONT COVERS WITH BRILLIANT DESIGN FRONTS, AGAIN ONE OF MY FAVOURITES IS THE DERBY COUNTY PROGRAMME ABOVE ALONG WITH ASTON VILLA'S FRONT COVER AND NEWCASTLE'S AND EVEN BIRMINGHAM'S JUST FOR ITS UNUSUAL SHAPE.

ANOTHER WORRY OR COLLECTING DILEMA FOR PROGRAMME COLLECTORS WAS STARTING TO REAR ITS HEAD AROUND THAT TIME WAS GETTING PIRATE MATCH PROGRAMMES. THE ONE OPPOSITE WAS PRODUCED FOR ASTON VILLA'S GAME WITH CITY AND HAD THE USUAL NOTE THAT IT WAS A "SOUVENIR PROGRAME". IT WAS PRICED AT DOUBLE THE PRICE OF THE ACTUAL PROGRAMME - 6d COMPARED TO 3d. IT WAS PUBLISHED BY "M.WALKER" OF SHIPTON ROAD, SUTTON AND PRINTED BY "COLINRAY LTD" OF SMETHWICK. ALL PIRATES THAT HAVE BEEN PRODUCED BEFORE AND SINCE THIS ONE CONTAIN VIRTUALLY NO READING MATERIAL AT ALL, IT CONSISTS OF A PICTURE ON THE FRONT OF IVOR POWELL, ONE ON THE BACK OF TREVOR FORD ALSO OF VILLA AND IN THE MIDDLE THE TEAMS AND 2 PICTURES OF PORTSMOUTH AND ARSENAL!! ALONG WITH A PICTURE OF FRANK SWIFT AND TREVOR FORD WHO HAD BEEN IN RECENT ACTION AGAINST EACH OTHER IN AN INTERNATIONAL.

BELOW IS 48/49'S FRIENDLY AND MINOR CUP GAMES AND IF A PROGRAMME (*) WAS PRODUCED

OPPOSITE IS THE BOURNEMOUTH FRIENDLY PROGRAMME FOR CITY'S VISIT THERE IN FEBRUARY 1949. REGARDING CITY'S FRIENDLY'S, MINOR CUP GAMES AND TOURS ETC THERE WERE 15 GAMES PLAYED ALTOGETHER. CLEARING UP THE MINOR CUP GAMES THERE ARE ONLY 2 KNOWN PROGRAMMES TO EXIST OF THE 7 LANCS OR MANCS SENIOR CUP GAMES PLAYED. FOR THE ONES KNOWN TO EXIST OR ONES THAT HAVE BEEN NOT FOUND YET ALL OF THEM ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN. I HAVE NONE FOR THE RECORD BUT I'M SURE THAT IF ANY WERE TO COME ALONG THEY WOULD ALL FETCH OVER £100 EACH. THE ONLY KNOWN ONE'S TO EXIST ARE THE ROCHDALE AND BOLTON GAMES. ON THE FRIENDLY FRONT CITY PLAYED 2 GAMES EARLY IN THE NEW YEAR AGAINST COVENTRY AND BOURNEMOUTH DUE TO GETTING KNOCKED OUT OF THE CUP IN THE 3RD ROUND. BOTH OF THESE AGAIN ARE VERY HARD TO OBTAIN AND THE BOURNEMOUTH ONE WOULD FETCH AROUND £40 AND THE COVENTRY PROBABLY AROUND THE £60 MARK. BOTH WERE ONLY 8 PAGES LIKE MOST OF THE LEAGUE PROGRAMMES BUT BEING FRIENDLY GAMES WOULD BE A LOT HARDER TO GET.

AS THE END OF THE SEASON DREW TO ITS CLOSE CITY ARRANGED TO GO ON TOUR TO DENMARK. WHY DENMARK IN THOSE DAYS? THEY COULD HAVE THOUGHT A BIT MORE AS TO MINE AND EVERONE ELSES PROGRAMME COLLECTION IN LATER YEARS!!

6 GAMES WERE PLAYED JUST TO REALLY MAKE IT EASY TO GET THE WHOLE TOUR OF PROGRAMMES PLAYED!! IT IS CERTAINLY KNOWN THAT THERE WERE AT LEAST 3 PROGRAMMES PRODUCED FOR THE GAMES AGAINST COPENHAGEN SELECT - TWICE AND JUTLAND SELECT. IF ANY OF THESE WERE TO COME UP ON OFFER THEY WOULD FETCH WELL OVER £200 AND THE SAME IF NOT MORE FOR THE OTHER 3 GAMES IF A PROGRAMME WAS PRODUCED.