‘On This Day’ today looks at Southampton’s programme from the 2018/19 season, with a review of the issue from their match against Newcastle United. Read our notes on the programme below and click here to see the other 2018/19 issues.
The Southampton programme remains the only issue in the league to be charged at £4. However, this year’s effort shows some significant improvements on last year’s issue, with an expanded collection of original content being particularly impressive.
The historical features are contained in an 11-page section called ‘Dell Diaries’. ‘Thanks for the Memory’ looks at a local press cartoon from 1953, recalling the stories related to it and Saints’ fortunes from the time. ‘Flying Foreign Flags’ highlights players from one nation who have represented Southampton, here featuring four Senegalese players – ranging from the successful Sadio Mane to the less celebrated Aly Dia.
‘That Reminds Me’ sees David Bull recalling the life of Saints player Bert Shelley, who served his country during the First World War, before making 465 appearances for the club. ‘The Life of O’Brien’ is a recollection of George O’Brien, who played for Southampton in the 1960s, helping the club to promotion in 1966. ‘Where Are They Now?’ looks back to a 1986 victory against the day’s opponents, Newcastle United, and examines what happened to the Saints players who turned out that day. The piece is accompanied by pictures from the game and the Southampton team group photo from the 1986/87 season.
In other original content, the programme contains an extensive junior section, offering younger Saints fans plenty of material over nine pages. There is an interview with current Southampton defender Jack Stephens, which is spread over nine pages. This recalls his early playing career and move to the south coast club. There is also a column from former Saints defender Francis Benali.
The section on opponents Newcastle features an introductory page of stats and key club records. There are basic pen-pics for the likely starting eleven, with expanded notes on a key player and the manager. ‘Scouting Report’ is a nicely presented graphic showing the visitors’ line-up and formation with brief notes on certain players. ‘Head to Head’ provides some further analysis of the visitors’ team. The section also includes an in-depth two-page interview with a reporter who covers the visiting team, looking at their season to date and other issues around the club. ‘Take A Trip Down Memory Lane’ is an excellent two-page reproduction of an image from the Southampton archives, here showing a goal from a Saints v Magpies cup tie from 1898.
Club information includes columns from manager and captain, followed by a page of club news. ‘Inside Staplewood’ looks at news around the club’s academy, with fixtures and results for the under-23s and under 18s. The usual two-page first-team results spread is well presented and accompanied by two pages of player stats for the first team squad. The programme also features a page on Southampton’s women’s team.
The programme benefits from a tidy design and some intelligent design touches. An example of this is the contents page, which contains images relevant to various features within the programme. The pages are generally well laid-out, although the occasional use of white text on a red background can be wearing on the eyes.
The Southampton programme is one of the most improved issues in the Premier League, offering some excellent content across its 84 pages. Although it is the most expensive issue in the division, the quality of the features is such that the programme still offers value for money.