Our latest review of the current season Premier League issues features Manchester United’s programme. Read our review of the consistently impressive ‘United Review’ below and click here to see all of the 2019/20 issues.
The familiar look of United’s square-shaped ‘United Review’ heralds the arrival of another high-quality club publication. This is an issue that makes excellent use of the programme shape, packed with attractively presented photography and design work and featuring several interesting articles.
There are several readable retro features. One of the best is ‘Classic United Review’, which looks at an issue of the club’s matchday programme from the past. For the Crystal Palace issue, the focus was on United’s first fixture back at Old Trafford following the Second World War. The stadium had been badly damaged during the Manchester Blitz of March 1941, during which time the club shared Manchester City’s Maine Road ground. The feature includes pictures of the programme cover, as well as several of the pages inside, while the accompanying text highlights notes from the programme and the outcome of the day’s fixture.
‘My Football Life’ is a new article for the 2019/20 season, featuring the reflections of a former United player, who looks back on memorable moments from their time with the club. The feature covers three pages and includes pictures from key career moments and a personal honours board. ‘In His Prime’ looks at a peak season for one United figure from the past. In the Palace issue, the article looked at Mark Hughes and the 1993/94 season, when the Welshman scored 22 goals as United secure a league and cup double. ‘From the Archives’ meanwhile takes a picture from United’s past and tells the story behind it.
In terms of contemporary content, there is a two-page article from club legend Paddy Crerand, in which the former United star discusses developments with the team. This season, Crerand’s column includes ‘Paddy’s Hall of Fame’, in which he selects some of the world’s greatest players. In the Palace issue, Crerand reflects on the respective merits of wingers Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews, opting for the former as his choice for the week. There are two features with current players, covering five and four pages respectively. The first – ‘Player Interview’ – includes an opening page that shows a picture of the player in question, alongside his key stats, followed by a nice mix of text and photography. The second feature includes stats showing the player’s performance in a recent fixture.
Opposition coverage is spread over six pages, opening with an eye-catching design that shows several photographs taken in and around the club’s stadium on a matchday, alongside the club crest and key club details. ‘State of Play’ looks at the latest talking points from inside the visitor’s camp, while there are a whole host of stats, including a form guide, most recent line-up details, recent meetings at Old Trafford, and a couple of ‘Did You Know?’ items. Rather than providing pen-pics for each member of the visiting squad the programme offers profiles of ‘Four to Watch’, with basic biographical details for the other players, as well as brief notes on the club’s manager. ‘Opposition Interview’ contains the thoughts of a figure associated with the visiting club. In addition to the club specific content, there are three further pages that look back at classic meetings between United and their visitors, including notes on the matches, photographs, with a nice touch being the inclusion of programme covers from some of the games. ‘Match Preview’ looks ahead to the day’s matchup, with various short articles and head-to-head stats over three pages.
Club information is suitably comprehensive. There is a column from boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, opposite a full-page image from a recent game. ‘Big Picture’ shows photographs from a recent United fixture, while the centre pages of the issue feature a poster with a double-page picture. The programme includes a three-page junior section and the same number of pages covering the work of the club’s Community Foundation. There are pages for United’s Academy and women’s teams, containing results and fixtures and reports on recent outings. ‘Need to Know’ is a diary-type feature, spread over two pages, that looks ahead to forthcoming key dates for each of United’s teams. The issue includes a page of Premier League stats, with a league table and a results and fixtures grid, as well as notes on the day’s fixtures. In terms of first team stats, there is a page showing current season appearances and goals, a separate chart of career statistics, and a well laid-out double-page season spread.
We have come to expect quality issues from United and this season’s effort is suitably impressive. The excellence of the design work is clear throughout, with the page shape lending itself well to expansive layouts and high-class photography. The various historic features provide the best reading in the programme although, with a high proportion of advertising content, the issue feels a little light on reading compared with the very best in the league. Nevertheless, with detailed club information and a decent amount of coverage of the visiting club, ‘United Review’ remains a classy programme.