The latest in our series of current season Premier League programme reviews is now available. This features the Aston Villa programme – the Villa News & Record. Read the review below and click here to see all of the 2019/20 Premier League issues.
For Villa’s first Premier League season since 2015/16 the club have produced a perfect-bound A5 programme. The issue retains the traditional ‘Villa News and Record’ title and features striking cover artwork, with an image of a Villa player against a backdrop displaying the player’s name, all nicely laid out in the club’s familiar claret and blue colours.
The best content within the programme comes in ‘Villa Vault’, which is a nine-page historical section. This opens with an eye-catching page design that shows Villa pictures from down the years together with items of club memorabilia, including matchday programmes. Each of the pages within the section is edged with a brown outline with the articles themselves presented as if on aged paper. This provides some differentiation for the section and adds to the retro feel. One of the articles – ‘Inside Out’ – is a programme collector’s ideal feature, selecting a Villa programme from a previous meeting with the day’s opponents. The article reproduces the front and back of the programme in question and comments on various of the articles and other contents. The feature also reports on the outcome of the game, with a focus on key players.
Villa Vault also includes ‘Where Villains No Longer Tread’, which looks at grounds that are no longer in existence and Villa’s fortunes there. Featuring a picture of the ground and a brief history, the article recalls various memorable visits and the last game played there by Villa. ‘100 Years On’ looks at the 1919/20 season, Villa’s first after the Great War. The feature reports on matches from the time, with a detail in the Everton issue that the players had to change trains five times on the way to their opening game of the season at Sunderland! It was perhaps not surprise that the team fell to a 2-1 defeat. ‘Numbers Game’ meanwhile sees Frank Holt selecting various topical facts related to the day’s fixture and date.
Other content includes Q&A, which is a five-page interview with the issue’s cover star. There is a section for Villa’s junior fans, which runs to four pages, while ‘Tayls Talking’ is a column from former Villa midfielder Ian Taylor. ‘Villa Rewind’ is a retro picture featuring a classic Villa image from the archives. For the Everton issue, the shot showed former Villa player (and later boss) Brian Little, scoring the winning goal in the 1977 League Cup Final win over the Toffees.
In respect of club information, there are columns from manager Dean Smith and club captain James Chester, while ‘Match Action’ looks back at recent games with several images from the day, match details, and commentary on the game. ‘Villa News Desk’ meanwhile provides news pieces and a diary of the season. The club’s under-23s have a page match report, with full line-ups and brief text, followed by results and fixtures for both them and the under-18s. The programme includes three pages on Villa’s women’s team, with match coverage, words from the head coach, and a results and fixtures page. ‘Stat Attack’ is a four-page collection of facts and figures for the first team, including results and fixtures, the league table, and player records.
Coverage of Villa’s matchday opponents comes in ‘Opposition Profile’, which is spread over nine pages. The section provides an impressive level of detail, all set within attractively designed layouts that utilise the club’s colours to good effect. The opening two-page spread includes some eye-catching design work, with a background of the club’s home ground and a large club crest. This also includes a fact-file, with the club’s honours, and a ‘SceneSetter’ articles that assesses the team’s form and recent progress. There then follow four pages of pen-pics of the visiting squad, simply laid out as if in a sticker album, with a more detailed write-up of one ‘Key Player’ and ‘The Manager’. ‘A Potted History’ provides a brief overview of the club’s past, including a memorable image. ‘Stat Attack’ offers a wealth of facts and figures about the visiting team, with ‘Player In Focus’ looking at some numbers for one key member of the team.
With a good mix of original content, club information, and visitor coverage, Villa have produced an impressive programme. Featuring some quality design and layout work throughout, the issue is very well presented and a pleasure to browse through. The ‘Villa Vault’ section is a real highlight, featuring various well-written historical articles.