Programmes

[Colin C No.3]

I have a suitcase full of them gained over the years & yet apart from games like JPT Final, League 1 Play Off Final, I haven't bought one for years.

Does anyone buy them religiously for all games attended anymore?

I would guess very few. Perhaps the advent of the internet has halted the need to wait to read The Managers Foreword in order to find out what's happening with the team. Or are they now just another financial expenditure that these days 'we' can no longer afford?

[Alan_Rovers]

I've bought one or two programmes per season for the past 8 or 9 years.

If the club look like they could actually be bothered to make an effort with what they are producing, I would buy it more regularly and I guess others would too.

It was absolutely awful the other week when we played Hull.

[StocktonRover]

I still buy them religiously for every first team game, once I've read them, catalogue them and file them away with the match ticket and teamsheet if I have them.

I've only got the last ten years now as all of my earlier ones from the seventies onwards were "lost" following personal issues....

Think I'm missing about 15 programmes in the last 10 years but trawling the internet periodically to see if I can find them.

The thing that bugs me though is when clubs like Middlesbrough produce theirs in an obscure size that buggers up the storage of them!

[The Red Baron]

Call me sad, but I still buy one from every game. I have progs from every competitive game played by Rovers since about 1980. I can't say that the current one produced by Rovers takes me very long to read, but I'd not want to stop collecting them now.

[nice one rovers]

I still buy them religiously for every first team game, once I've read them, catalogue them and file them away with the match ticket and teamsheet if I have them.

I've only got the last ten years now as all of my earlier ones from the seventies onwards were "lost" following personal issues....

Think I'm missing about 15 programmes in the last 10 years but trawling the internet periodically to see if I can find them.

The thing that bugs me though is when clubs like Middlesbrough produce theirs in an obscure size that buggers up the storage of them!

Put on here the ones you're missing, we might have them amongst us.

[hamiltonrover]

I only go to a dozenish games a season now as I live in Scotland, but still enure I get a programme via family etc. I have every home and away since 1976 when I was born, except 1 - Mansfield v DRFC in the league cup in 1980/81 season, if anyone has I will pay you a handsome price. Much prefer the programmes from the 80's generally these were pretty decent and not oversized, much prefer smaller programmes to today's bulky/glossy efforts, they also create storage problems.

[graingrover]

Programmes are quintessentially British and when you have to limit yourself to the free stuff you get served up with in the rest of Europe you may feel differently . I have Rovers programmes and nearly ever other league club from the 1950's and 60's and treasure the memories they represent . Even reading the adverts  in Rovers programmes of the 50's is evocative of childhood surroundings .... Ray Harrison's Sports , Co op for high tea, British Rail Supporters' trains for Away matches , Felix , Cressey, Blue line buses advertising supporters buses to home matches from the pit villages . Hang on to your programmes Colin Clish.

[pubteam]

I usually buy them away, but only buy our own programme occasionally.

On the subject, very impressed with Colchester's programme from yesterday. Nicely designed, not too advert heavy, and some good content.

[newyankee]

As Commercial Manager at several Rugby League clubs, I always put special emphasis on producing a quality programme as I found this was the one thing visiting supporters took away with them. What they thought about the programme often related to what they thought of the club.

      A poor programme ( production wise), or one, that for home supporters was FULL of advertising and nothing different to read each week meant they would buy one at the beginning of the season and never again. To me it all depends how much the club has the interests of speccies at heart., or they think they have to have one but put little effort into the production.

[Alan_Rovers]

If what you see if correct newyankee, the club must not care much at all about us.

[Donnywolf]

They are now part of the "match day experience" but in inflationary terms are 5 times over priced from when  the Op was a lad

I stuck in my inflation calculator a 5p amount in 1970 which came up to 65p now

Check owt you want out here :

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1633409/Historic-inflation-calculator-value-money-changed-1900.html

[newyankee]

The thing is Donnywolf, that if you have something new each programme for people to read opposite ads then the ads will be seen more. As far as readers and advertisers it makes sense.
  If speccies realise there are four pages of ads till the next piece of interest, they will skip those pages and therefore you are duping the advertisers. Just common sense to me, and at the same time you are looking after both sets of people.

[1879Rovers]

I have every home programme from the 1980/81 season up to 1990 and then started again from 2003/04 - 2009/10. I stopped getting them as I had absolutely nowhere else to store them.

I have most stacked away in the red binders that you could buy back in the day.

I still sit and read them regularly, especially those from the early 80's. I struggled for many years to get the home programme from the 2003/04 against Bristol Rovers before eventually getting one.

I will pass them all on to my lad when he is old enough to appreciate them.

[StocktonRover]

I still buy them religiously for every first team game, once I've read them, catalogue them and file them away with the match ticket and teamsheet if I have them.

I've only got the last ten years now as all of my earlier ones from the seventies onwards were "lost" following personal issues....

Think I'm missing about 15 programmes in the last 10 years but trawling the internet periodically to see if I can find them.

The thing that bugs me though is when clubs like Middlesbrough produce theirs in an obscure size that buggers up the storage of them!

Put on here the ones you're missing, we might have them amongst us.

Nice one Rovers (and anyone else), the list below is what I am missing from the past 10 years - I'm at a loss why several of them are missing as I went to the games?

If anyone has a spare copy of any of these, please PM me and let me know how much.

2002-03
Tue 20 Aug, Leigh RMI v Doncaster Rovers (A) Conference
Sat 07 Sep, Doncaster Rovers v Dagenham & Redbridge (H) Conference
Sat 21 Sep, Margate v Doncaster Rovers (A) conference
Tue 24 Sep, Gravesend & Northfleet v Doncaster Rovers (A) Conference
Sat 05 Oct, Nuneaton Borough v Doncaster Rovers (A) Conference
Sat 19 Oct, Yeovil Town v Doncaster Rovers (A) Conference

2006-07
Tue 30 Jan, Crewe Alexandra v Doncaster Rovers (A) Johnstones Paint Trophy Final (N) 1

2007-08
Sat 22 Dec, Crewe Alexandra v Doncaster Rovers (A) League 1
Tue 29 Jan, Doncaster Rovers v Hartlepool United (H) League 1
Sat 02 Feb, Millwall v Doncaster Rovers (A) League 1
Tue 12 Feb, Bournemouth v Doncaster Rovers (A) League 1
Sat 01 Mar, Tranmere Rovers v Doncaster Rovers (A) League 1
Tue 04 Mar, Bristol Rovers v Doncaster Rovers (A) League 1
Sat 15 Mar, Brighton & Hove Albion v Doncaster Rovers (A) League 1
Fri 09 May, Southend United v Doncaster Rovers (A) League 1 Play Off 1st Leg

2008-09
Tue 22 Jul, Morcombe v Doncaster Rovers (A) Friendly
Tue 28 Oct, Doncaster Rovers v Barnsley (H) Championship

2010-11
Wed 14 Jul, Quorn FC v Doncaster Rovers (A) Friendly

2011-12
Sat 16 Jul, Barrow v Doncaster Rovers (A) Friendly
Sat 23 Jul, Carlisle United v Doncaster Rovers (A) Friendly

Regards

[glosterred]

Are match day programmes now out dated - with the internet there is a lot of sites available that you can get all the information that is carried in them?

COYR

[RedRover45]

 I've got every Rovers programme home and away since 1956/57 apart from a couple of single sheet friendlies. It's getting bloody expensive now to go further back. I've got loads of spares too if there's others that people need, particularly from the ill-fated 97-98 season.

[phllvslc]

I've been collecting programmes since I was 7, and I'm 23 now and have nearly 2,800.  When I was younger I would go crazy and just buy any really, hence the high number.  I also didn't specialise either meaning I have programmes from hundreds of teams across many sports and dozens of countries.  For me, the sport or nationality of the programme was more important at times.  I guess I've always enjoyed foreign programmes more than English ones.

I still buy a programme from every match I attend, even getting to the stadium early in order to secure one.  That might sound sad too.  Like StocktonRover, I have them all listed on a computer database.

I initially just got the Rovers ones from the matches I went to, but then discovered that the Supporter's Club could get you them from every match so did that until the end of last season.  I have hundreds of Rovers home and aways in total, but they don't total a very large percentage of my collection overall.

I don't live in Doncaster any more (I moved to the USA in June) and by then I was really struggling to store them.  As such, I'm now working on downsizing what I left with my parents with my mum learning how to ebay.  I'm trying to sell off the ones that don't really mean anything, with the focus of the collection being left to Rovers and foreign programmes.  I don't buy them for the sake of it now, only getting them from games I've gone to.

[Donnywolf]

I bought a huge amount on E-Bay 1400 or so with the great idea to sell them on one by one and even if they fetched just 5p each I would make around 50p on the Postage and Packing

They average around 35+ years of age (mostly 67 - 75 I guess) and incluse 4 or so complete seasons of M*******r U*****d at home

It was a get rich slow idea but I managed just one sale from my first 10 adverts and "nil" from the next 10. So I put the lot in the loft where they live to this day.

I have a small collection of Progs from "matches that I was at" or "special Matches" (Rovers 10 Darlington 0 is in that category) and I do not routinely buy them anymore

[Jim Dobbin]

Its a pity that these days they don't hold much value unless its a very rare one. I have the important ones that l want to get framed.

Any one any idea of a good framing place? the ones that do the ticket and programme in one frame?

[DC-]

Got a few seasons worth, almost complete (home only) but then lost interest. I'd stopped reading them, more interested in keeping them in good condition.

Got a load of non-Rovers ones too. One was a bulk that my father gave me from his days down at Orient and West Ham. Another is bulk from seeing a programme I wanted and having to buy the whole pack (anyone remember those packs in old Belle Vue programme shop?)

[The Red Baron]

I bought a huge amount on E-Bay 1400 or so with the great idea to sell them on one by one and even if they fetched just 5p each I would make around 50p on the Postage and Packing

They average around 35+ years of age (mostly 67 - 75 I guess) and incluse 4 or so complete seasons of M*******r U*****d at home

It was a get rich slow idea but I managed just one sale from my first 10 adverts and "nil" from the next 10. So I put the lot in the loft where they live to this day.

I have a small collection of Progs from "matches that I was at" or "special Matches" (Rovers 10 Darlington 0 is in that category) and I do not routinely buy them anymore

Having sold quite a lot of programmes on ebay, I can confirm that there is little interest in the run-of-the-mill games and the only ones that go well are those from big matches or where there was a very small print run.

Where you might get some joy is if you were to sell the Man U complete seasons as a single lot. For reasons I won't elaborate on I had two complete seasons of Leeds United programmes and managed to get around £50 for each of the seasons. It may have helped that the seasons in question were 73-4 (when they won the League) and 74-5 when they reached the European Cup Final.

[RedJ]

Its a pity that these days they don't hold much value unless its a very rare one. I have the important ones that l want to get framed.

Any one any idea of a good framing place? the ones that do the ticket and programme in one frame?

there's a guy on here that does framing isn't there?

[Donnywolf]

Deebee ....Shop is in precinct at Armthorpe

(I should be on commission the times I have answered that)