Programme Reviews

Key

PP = Total Pages

Net = Total Pages Less Adverts

P = Perfect Bound

S = Stapled

 

Arsenal (v Nottingham Forest 21/04/93)

£1.50 (48 pp / 43.5 net / S)

 

Aston Villa (v Manchester United 07/11/92)

£1.20 (32 pp / 22.5 net / S)

Villa’s ‘News and Record’ for 1992/93 was a very well-designed programme, managing to pack in a lot of content without pages appearing too crowded. A consistent design was used throughout, with nice use of club colours and page headers. The issue also presented images well, with these being nicely laid out with the relevant text.

The best original feature was ‘Memory Match’, in which a former Villa player looked back at a memorable game from the past. This issue featured Johnny Dixon recalling past clashes against Manchester United in the 1950s, including the 1957 FA Cup Final. The column also reflected on a Christmas double-header in 1954, when Villa won 1-0 at Old Trafford on December 27^th as well as winning the return fixture 2-1 the next day – Dixon scoring in both games. The feature provided match facts for that game at Villa Park, as well as an excerpt from the Villa programme from 1^st January 1955 that reported on the match.

In other original content, ‘Nationwide’ looked at football news from around the country, while ‘Team Talk’ was a two-page player interview that featured Villa midfielder Dave Farrell. The youngster, who had been playing Sunday football the previous year, had made his debut for Villa against Queens Park Rangers the previous week. ‘Scene Setter’ meanwhile took the opportunity to compare Ron Atkinson’s Villa of 1992 with Graham Taylor’s team of 1989, which had narrowly missed out on winning the league.

Club information included the manager’s column; several pages of Villa news on and off the field; and a detailed first-team stats section over two pages, including a squad roll-call and league table. Previous matches were covered with pictures and brief text, whilst line-ups for those matches were provided in the ‘record’ section of the programme. The issue also featured write-ups for the reserves and youth teams.

Opposition content was rather limited, with an introductory article followed by a detailed diary of the opposition’s season to date and a ten-year record. Only a couple of player pics were provided, together with basic biographical information of each member of the United squad and the club’s results to date for the season. There was also a collection of pictures from United’s visit to Villa Park in the League Cup ten days earlier, where the home side had triumphed courtesy of a Dean Saunders goal.

Overall this was a very tidy issue from Villa. Whilst the emphasis was on the ‘news and record’ items suggested by the title, there was also plenty to read in the programme with ‘Memory Match’ being a real highlight and one of the best articles from any issue in that inaugural Premier League season.

 

Blackburn Rovers (v Coventry City 26/01/93)

£1.20 (32 pp / 25.5 net / S)

 

Chelsea (v Manchester City 09/01/93)

£1.50 (40 pp / 33.5 net / S)

 

Coventry City (v Sheffield Wednesday 03/03/93)

£1.20 (32 pp / 25 net / S)

 

Crystal Palace (v Tottenham Hotspur 30/01/93)

£1.50 (48 pp / 32 net / S)

 

Everton (v Ipswich Town 24/03/93)

£1.30 (32 pp / 26.5 net / S)

 

Ipswich Town (v Leeds United 03/10/92)

£1.20 (32 pp / 24 net / S)

 

Leeds United (v Aston Villa 13/09/92)

£1.50 (40 pp / 30.5 net / S)

 

Liverpool (v Arsenal 23/08/92)

£1.10 (32 pp / 27 net / S)

 

Manchester City (v Southampton 24/10/92)

£1.30 (32 pp / 26.5 net / S)

 

Manchester United (v Queens Park Rangers 26/09/92)

£1.00 (40 pp / 30 net / S)

 

Middlesbrough (v Wimbledon 21/11/92)

£1.00 (32 pp / 23.5 net / S)

 

Norwich City (v Crystal Palace 27/01/93)

£1.50 (36 pp / 27 net / S)

 

Nottingham Forest (v Oldham Athletic 30/01/93)

£1.00 (32 pp / 26 net / S)

 

Oldham Athletic (v Sheffield United 13/04/93)

£1.20 (44 pp / 26 net / S)

 

Queens Park Rangers (v Everton 28/12/92)

£1.30 (40 pp / 32 net / S)

 

Sheffield United (v Liverpool 12/09/92)

£1.20 (40 pp / 25.5 net / S)

Sheffield United’s programme for the inaugural Premier League season offered a good range of features, with some particularly noteworthy articles included in the issue for their fixture against Liverpool.

One of the best features in the programme is a recap of the 1965/66 season, with special attention to the fortunes of Sheffield United and Liverpool. Another historical article – ‘Look Back’ recalls the United career of Herbert Parkin, who had recently died. Parkin made 35 league appearances for the Blades in the post-war years, despite suffering a broken leg in 1944.

‘Lane News’ pulls together updates from around the club, while ‘The Story So Far’ is a detailed record of recent results and off the field developments, including the news that future United boss Chris Wilder had ended his time as a Blades’ player – transferring to Rotherham United for £50,000. Action pictures from the recent game against Aston Villa are included, whilst there are columns from manager Dave Bassett, club captain Brian Gayle, and club secretary Dave Capper.

‘Face to Face’ sees one United supporter posing questions to a member of the Blades’ team – in this issue featuring midfielder Jamie Hoyland, while forward Adrian Littlejohn is interviewed about his hopes of nailing down a regular slot in the first-team. ‘Rusty Blade’s Terrace Talk’ meanwhile is an opinion piece that here offers thoughts on the club’s away following and the early effects of the new back-pass law.

There is excellent coverage of the club’s reserve and youth teams, with detailed write-ups of recent matches, including full line-ups and scorer details, together with fixtures, results, and league tables for both sides. The usual first-team statistics section is also present.

Opponents Liverpool are profiled over two pages, with notes on the various squad members and pictures of first-team regulars David James and Steve Nicol. The programme also includes a separate breakdown of Liverpool’s appearances and goals for the current season, as well as recalling the previous season’s meetings between the clubs.

This is a programme with plenty to commend it, offering several interesting features, extensive club information, and detailed opposition coverage.

 

Sheffield Wednesday (v Norwich City 10/01/93)

£1.20 (36 pp / 22.5 net / S)

 

Southampton (v Blackburn Rovers 22/11/92)

£1.50 (48 pp / 37 net / S)

 

Tottenham Hotspur (v Middlesbrough 17/10/92)

£1.50 (48 pp / 37.5 net / S)

 

Wimbledon (v Chelsea 28/12/92)

£1.50 (40 pp / 29.5 net / S)