This matchday programme from December 1907 features Merseyside neighbours Liverpool and Everton – hardly unusual, you might think, as the two sides regularly met at least twice per season.
Except that in 1907-08, the two Merseyside derbies took place in October and April.So why does this programme feature both clubs?
As the cover suggests, these were printed “by the authority of the Everton and Liverpool football clubs” as a joint venture. Everton and Liverpool would not play at home on the same day, but when one first team was on hosting duties, the other club would also play host to a reserve match.
The two clubs opted to publish a combined programme featuring the line-ups of both games, keeping down their printing oveheads.
This practice was first established in 1904, and ran until the end of the 1934-35 season, at which point both clubs opted to print their own separate programmes.
