Random pages from old programmes and stories behind them

[Capybara]

That's a nice idea for a New Year photo, using the numbers like that.

You could do it with two players these days.

[elguapo4]

If that's not Mariner, it's his twin brother.

[Capybara]

Wiki insists Mariner didn't play for Plymouth until 73-4. Jim Hinch played number 9 for Plymouth around this time. He's in the middle of the back row. I reckon it's him.

[Greenlander]

I'm putting this here by way of an enquiry which has come up elsewhere and I guess it's particularly aimed at Greenlander . I was trying to identify the players and in particular number 9. My first reaction was that it is Paul Mariner because it looks like him but this is from the first two weeks of 1973 and Wiki tells us he joined Argyle in 1973 so he would have needed to join very early in 1973 to have been in the photo. Jim Furnell's the 'keeper and Tony Waiters the manager I think.

Before my time but I'll attempt it.

Good going with Furnell in goals and Tony Waiters in the managerial tracksuit, but it's not Paul Mariner. He did join us in 1973 but not until September. It's Jimmy Hinch in the nine shirt who while prolific enough was blown out the club by Mariner who was another level. Left us for Hereford.

Going by the numbers they wore for us that season the others are Ernie Machin at 7 and Colin Sullivan the 3.

[Greenlander]

Many of the old heads will tell you that while Mariner may have been the greatest player to wear the green shirt Jimmy Hinch remains a cult favourite. Apparently he played football like a baby calf but certainly knew how to score a goal. Mariner just knew how to do it better.

[Capybara]

Ta. The story behind the programme is that Plymouth won the cup-tie 1-0 and Boro's manager Stan Anderson resigned after 7 years in charge. He later said that it was his intention to resign whatever the result but given that he had only a few weeks earlier brought in Graeme Souness I'm not sure about that.

[Greenlander]

.

Going by the numbers they wore for us that season the others are Ernie Machin at 7 and Colin Sullivan the 3.

I've done a bit of digging and it seems I may have got these two wrong.

The 7 is Keith Allen who hadn't been in the team since August due to injury and would eventually retire having never played again while the 3 is Dave Provan of Rangers fame.

[Capybara]

Various clubs have experimented with newspapers for programmes over the years before going back to more ‘conventional’ formats. Derby County had a newspaper for at least two seasons in the mid-1970s and I went to the Baseball Ground a few times when I was studying in Nottingham. One such visit was for a European Cup tie in 1975. The front page shows Archie Gemmill who Slovan Bratislava manager Josef Venglos has identified as the main danger to his team’s progress. Derby won the game 3-0 and went through 3-1 on aggregate. A number of the Bratislava players were later members of the 1976 Czechoslovakia European Championship winning squad.

[tee rex]

That's a really progressive prog, for the time. Translating into foreign?

Also ... half-time alphabets, midweek? Rare. Includes Anglo-Scottish Cup, I assume.

[fatbear]

I see Marian Masny gets a mention, the definition of a player who was unplayable on his home ground but disappeared away from home. In those days Czechoslavakia played all their "must win" games in Bratislava, and Masny was outstanding in a 2-1 win over Don Revie's England side.

[Mockswing]

Plymouth also used the newspaper format for a couple of years.

On another note, that York v. Luton programme, was it from a Saturday evening kickoff? York used to play quite a few Saturday evening matches in the late 1960s, & I think Shrewsbury did as well.

[Capybara]

Middlesbrough went down the newspaper route in the 1980s. I'd imagine these are quite rare given that newspapers are more likely to be thrown away, but also because the reason they produced them was because they were hard up and they were getting very small crowds at the time.

The York v Luton game was a standard Saturday 3pm kick-off.