Programmes

& fanzines

Pile them up in the spare bedroom

Season 1999-2000 (so far)

Scunthorpe (1 Feb) by Dean Domerecki

Cost: £1.80

Pages: 32

Good things: That we only have to read one per season, but maybe not for much longer.

Bad things: Thin on information, poorly presented statistical items, riddled with factual error. The Second Division table is all wrong, the team listings don’t use squad numbers for Wrexham (Karl Connolly number 13? Gareth ‘Owens’ Owen number 12?) and the Wrexham player pen-pictures include up-to-the-minute info on, er, Tony Humes and Michael Ryan. We could go on.

Bizarre things: The aerial photograph of the ground, which comprises approximately 25% stadium, 20% fields, 15% woods - and 40% car park.

Great one-liner: “Enjoy tonight’s game”. Thanks, I did.

Verdict: Already relegated.

Notts County (12 Feb) by Dean Domerecki

Cost: £2

Pages: 40

Good things: Clear presentation of just about everything in this programme, especially tables, results and statistics. Good columns from the manager and managing director, the latter reporting on a meeting between the board and a supporters’ action group!

Bad things: Front cover print quality is not very impressive. Also, an advert for a sportsmans’ dinner featuring Wilf McGuinness, who will ‘regale you with his tales and experiences of “The Biggest Football Club in the World”’. No thank you.

Bizarre things: Lots and lots of adverts for hospitality packages - Easter packages, Mother’s Day deals, etc. Also, Kevin Russell is the only Wrexham player to be pictured in black-and-white only. Is there some hidden meaning to this?

Great one-liner: “In February 1989 the Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the execution of Salman Rushdie for comments made in his book ‘The Satanic Verses’, forcing the author into hiding.”

Verdict: Excellent in parts.

FANZINES
The Pie
Issue no.59, out on the day of the Wrexham match, cost £1 for 56 A5 pages and is good value for the entertainment it contains. Lots of humour, most of it aimed at neighbours Forest, and a good deal of well-written comment and viewpoint. A balance is achieved between up-to-the-minute news, for example the ‘SNAG’ supporters ‘pressure-group’, and historical content, reminiscing about better days and European football (remind you of anybody else?). A subbuteo review as well - what more could you want? Overall, a creditable effort.
Dean Domerecki

No More Pie In The Sky
Edited by the Paul Weller-obsessed Ivan ‘Bart’ Bambridge, NMPITS is an unusual mixture of Notts Country gossip and music-business trivia. The Bart man produces a lively magazine, and Issue 39 (Sep ‘99-Jan ’00) is dominated by Brett Angell, Millennium bug gags and the editor’s impending move into fatherhood. The fanzine also has a particularly excellent logo: a road sign-esque image incorporating a crossed-out pork pie. Fantastic. I met the editor at the 12 February encounter and he said
he was getting a bit bored with football.
Peter Davies

Oxford (26 Feb) by Daniel Jennings

Cost: £2.00

Pages: 32 (including cover)

Good things: The information about coming games - both home and away was in very good detail. They’ve got six-pointers with Reading and Colchester coming up!

Bad things: The same stats as almost EVERY other programme! The picture of Denis Smith - it really is awful! No match reports - Why? Why? Why?

Bizarre things: Oxford have Andre Arendse in their squad but they play Paul Lundin! Oh, and Preston’s ground is called Bloomfield Road!

Great one-liner: “Martyn (Chalk) is a useful targetman who works hard and guarantees any side for whom he plays maximum commitment and 90 minutes of hard work.”

Verdict: Very average.

FANZINE
Oxtales
Again another fanzine ordered…and another fanzine that has yet to be received. So, we’ve had a look instead at oxtales.com - a rather smart unofficial Oxford United web-site. It’s decked out in yellow and blue and is home to a fascinating ‘Rumours’ section and also lots of irate stuff about the the club’s proposed move to Minchery Farm. There’s a special survey, lots of comment and a deep hostility to Morrells Brewery, which seems to be delaying all the construction work.
Peter Davies