Programme Reviews

Key

PP = Total Pages

Net = Total Pages Less Adverts

P = Perfect Bound

S = Stapled

 

Arsenal (v Burnley 06/03/10)

£3.00 (84 pp / 70 net / S)

 

Aston Villa (v Fulham 30/08/09)

£3.00 (76 pp / 52 net / S)

 

Birmingham City (v West Ham United 12/12/09)

£3.00 (84 pp / 61 net / S)

 

Blackburn Rovers (v Manchester United 11/04/10)

£3.00 (68 pp / 51 net / S)

 

Bolton Wanderers (v Portsmouth 24/04/10)

£3.00 (84 pp / 65.5 net / S)

 

Burnley (v Bolton Wanderers 26/12/09)

£3.00 (72 pp / 48.5 net / S)

Burnley’s ‘Claret and You’ publication impressed with its high-quality design and layout. Good use was made of the programme’s square shape to present the photographic content, with the resulting issue being a pleasure to browse through. With quite a high proportion of advertising pages there were only 48.5 pages of content in the programme, with only Manchester United’s issue offering fewer.

Many of the readable features within the programme consisted of columns from key figures around the club. Manager Owen Coyle offered his thoughts in ‘The Gaffer’, as did captain Steven Caldwell and Chief Executive Paul Fletcher in their columns. ‘Talking Football’ was a two-page feature from high-profile Clarets supporter Alastair Campbell, while ‘Tony on the Turf’ featured words from BBC Radio journalist Tony Livesey, who hails from Burnley.

There were a couple of historical features within the issue. The most impressive was the inclusion of a reproduction match programme from the 1959/60 season, when Burnley last finished as champions of England. The programme was presented inside a four-page wraparound called ‘The Daily Claret’, which provided some context from the time through match reports and a diary of the season. ‘Classic Clashes’ looked at past meetings between Burnley and their matchday opponents. For the visit of Bolton Wanderers, the games featured included a 5-3 Burnley win at Burnden Park in 1960 and a 2-1 win for the Clarets when the two clubs met in the old Division Four in 1987.

The main player feature, which for the Bolton issue showcased goalkeeper Brian Jensen, was spread across six pages. As with many of the other features in the programme this was nicely presented with white text against photographic backdrops. Previous match coverage was well handled with the match details, a detailed write-up in ‘Match Review’ and several pictures from the game. The centre-pages of the programme were given over to a two-page photograph showing an action shot from a recent Clarets game. ‘Inside Turf’ presented two pages of news from around the club, and there was also a two-page ‘Junior Clarets’ section. The issue included two pages on Burnley’s reserve and youth teams, with results, fixtures, and tables for both. There were four pages of stats for the first team, including a nicely designed season spread that made intelligent use of the club’s colours.

Opposition coverage was included across four pages, which opened with the visiting club’s details, notes on the club’s prospects, and a profile of the manager. A top-flight timeline looked at the fortunes of the club down the years, while there were pen-pics of each member of the first-team squad. A separate page dealt with connections between the two clubs, including notes on the first and most recent meetings of the two teams.

This Burnley issue was notable for the quality of its design work and the inclusion of the historical feature marking 50 years since the club’s last title triumph. The programme perhaps lacked only a little more in the way of longer-form reading, with the bulk of the readable content consisting of shorter columns.

 

Chelsea (v Stoke City 25/04/10)

£3.00 (72 pp / 48.5 net / S)

 

Everton (v Blackburn Rovers 20/09/09)

£3.00 (84 pp / 60 net / S)

 

Fulham (v Hull City 19/10/09)

£3.50 (84 pp / 57 net / S)

 

Hull City (v Manchester City 06/02/10)

£3.00 (80 pp / 56 net / S)

 

Liverpool (v Tottenham Hotspur 10/01/10)

£3.00 (84 pp / 62 net / S)

 

Manchester City (v Birmingham City 11/04/10)

£3.00 (100 pp / 77.5 net / P)

 

Manchester United (v Chelsea 03/04/10)

£3.00 (76 pp / 47 net / S)

 

Portsmouth (v Sunderland 09/02/10)

£3.00 (84 pp / 58.5 net / S)

 

Stoke City (v Wigan Athletic 12/12/09)

£3.00 (84 pp / 61.5 net / S)

 

Sunderland (v Wolverhampton Wanderers 27/09/09)

£3.00 (84 pp / 64 net / S)

 

Tottenham Hotspur (v Everton 28/02/10)

£3.00 (84 pp / 57.5 net / S)

 

West Ham United (v Arsenal 25/10/09)

£3.50 (84 pp / 66 net / S)

 

Wigan Athletic (v Liverpool 08/03/10)

£3.00 (76 pp / 50.5 net / S)

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers (v Aston Villa 24/10/09)

£3.00 (100 pp / 74 net / S)

The Wolves programme for 2009/10 was one of only two in the top-flight that season to have 100 pages – Manchester City being the other – and, despite giving up just over a quarter of these to advertisements, offered 74 pages of content.

The best features were packed into an eleven-page historical section towards the back of the programme. The contents page for the section featured a picture of former Wolves player Joe Gardiner, who made 139 appearances for the club between 1932 and 1944. The section included a three-page interview, called ‘On Both Sides’, which here featured Andy Gray. The striker, who won the League Cup with both Wolves and Villa, reflected on his time with the two clubs and how his switch to Molineux came about following a falling-out with Villa boss Ron Saunders.

‘A Pic in Time’ saw football historian Leigh Edwards selecting a photo from the Wolves archive and tracing the players featured in it. The image featured in this program was from the FA Cup Semi-Final between Wolves and Villa, which took place at the Hawthorns in March 1960. The players shown in the archive picture from the day were Villa goalkeeper Nigel Sims, Wolves centre-forward Jimmy Murray, and Villa full-back Stan Lynn. Wolves won the match 1-0 and went on to beat Blackburn Rovers 3-0 in the Final at Wembley to collect their fourth and most recent FA Cup.

‘Archive Corner’ featured a picture of the Aston Villa team that took on Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup in October 1990, a tie which Villa would win 3-2 on aggregate. The accompanying text notes that the Villa team contained five players who would later spend time at Molineux, namely Tony Daley, Stuart Gray, Derek Mountfield, Gordan Cowans, and the late Paul Birch. ‘Golden Days’ was a two-page column looking back to a clash between Wolves and their opponents, here focusing on Villa’s trip to Molineux on Boxing Day 1963. The match finished in a 3-3 draw on a day that featured more goals (66) than any other day in top-flight history. The programme also included a recurring feature that, in a World Cup season, recalled previous tournaments. The focus in the Villa issue was the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, when the brilliant Hungary team of Puskas looked set to be crowned world champions, only to lose to West Germany in the final.

This was a top-class historical section from Wolves, featuring several very readable articles and making excellent use of archive photos to complement the stories included. The whole section was very well presented and a pleasure to read.

In terms of other original content, the programme included a six-page player feature, much of which was given over to photos, which contained an interview with Wolves winger Michael Kightly. The player reflected on overcoming injury problems and the club’s promotion from the Championship at the end of the previous season. The issue also featured columns from manager Mick McCarthy, Chief Executive Jez Moxey, and Steve Kemp, the club’s Head of Medical Services, who reflected on a day in the life of an injured player. Former Wolves forward Don Goodman penned a column, featuring his reflections on the latest football news. There was a page previewing Wolves’ next match at Molineux with a good level of detail on the forthcoming opponents, while ‘Premier News’ pulled together news from around the top-flight.

Club information provided was suitably comprehensive. There were fully four pages of coverage of each recent Wolves match, with numerous photos from the game, key match stats, and a timeline of events running across the bottom of the page. There was plenty of coverage of the club’s other teams, with two pages given to updates on Wolves’ reserve team and five pages for the Academy team, which included a two-page focus on one member of the club’s youth team. There was also a page of coverage of Wolves’ Women’s team. The first team’s stats were also covered in detail.

Wolves’ matchday opponents Aston Villa were covered over seven pages. An introductory article, which commented on the club’s positive early season form, was followed by five pages of pen-pics of the Villa squad and a full-page profile of manager Martin O’Neill. There was also a separate page of stats comparing various aspects of Wolves’ and Villa’s performances.

All in all, a tremendous programme from Wolves. Full of content, with the historical section being a notable highlight, and with extensive club information and detailed opposition coverage, this issue was among the strongest programmes of the season.