The second in our summer series of Merit Awards is the first to be handed to a club outside of the Premier League, with Bristol Rovers being recognised for the best programme in League One. Rovers’ issue finished on top of the pile of programmes from the third tier of English football, edging out the excellent issues produced by Coventry City and Sunderland.
‘The Pirate’ continues Rovers reputation for producing quality matchday issues with another exemplary programme. Each issue is arranged on the theme of ‘Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow’, which is reflected in the cover design that shows Rovers players past, present, and future.
The ‘Yesterday’ section opens the programme with an impressive series of retro features, spread over 15 pages, starting with a four-page interview with the relevant figure from the programme cover. ‘Think of a Title’ looks back to Rovers’ successful 1989/90 campaign, dealing not just with the football but events in other sport and society, while ‘From the Archives’ looks at past meetings against the day’s opposition. Perhaps the best feature is ‘During the War’, which recalls the 1939/40 season, which was interrupted after just a few weeks by the outbreak of World War Two. The article traces developments through the season, using images of memorabilia from the time alongside the text.
‘Today’ opens with analysis of the visiting club, with seven pages on the opposition including an opening article that discusses the team’s form, followed by manager and player profiles, head to head numbers, and ‘Loan Rangers’. There is good use of the visiting club’s colours throughout the section, with a level of detail that is in keeping with the rest of the issue. ‘Today’ also includes notes from the Rovers manager, ‘League One Lookover’, and ‘Match Action’, with coverage of recent matches well laid out over two pages. ‘The Big Interview’ covers six pages, including a picture across the centre pages of the programme. There are various other columns, including notes from the supporters’ club, ‘Hot Topic’, which picks up on issues in the wider game, and an article that focuses on the search for the overseas club that is most like Rovers.
‘Tomorrow’ deals with coverage of the club’s Academy, including a two-page interview with one prospect, together with fixtures for the academy, development, and women’s teams. There is a four-page ‘Young Pirates’ section, with plenty to keep younger supporters occupied, and two pages on the club’s next away trip, which includes information on the club and the place to be visited, all set out nicely in the relevant team’s colours. There are several pages of stats, plus details of the next home fixture.
With just 18 out of 84 pages given over to advertising content, and charged at just £3, ‘The Pirate’ is one of the best value for money programmes in the league. The team behind the programme deserve great credit for the innovative presentation of each issue and the sheer weight of the content included. A brilliant programme.