Our latest current season review is now available on our 2019/20 page. This is for Burnley’s terrific ‘Turf’ issue, which took the Gold Award in our first Programme of the Season Awards in the 2017/18 season. Read our full review below and click here to see all the other current season issues. We are finalising reviews for other programmes and these will be published over the next few weeks.
Burnley’s consistently excellent ‘Turf’ programme returns for the 2019/20 season with a new look. The programme is now presented in a square format, which the club previously used in the late 2000s. There has also been an increase in the number of pages since last season, with 80 pages – up from 68 – now included for the £3 cost.
Burnley’s programme has been one of the most impressively designed issues of the last few seasons and that quality has been adopted well to the new shape of the programme. Nowhere is this more in evidence than with the cracking cover designs used this season. These feature the outline of a football pitch with the names of the clubs in the centre circle and the two halves of the pitch given over to the shirt colours of the teams. This has worked particularly well where there is a strong contrast between the two sets of colours, such as with the Norwich City and Newcastle United issues. The programme also uses shirt motifs in certain sections throughout the programme, which help to provide a consistent feel to the issue.
The 2019/20 season is the 60th anniversary of the last time that Burnley were champions of England, and the programme marks the occasion with a retro section that looks back at the title-winning season. There are two pages of reports from various games, as well as pictures of news cuttings from the time, match images, and notes on other contemporary news events. Similar treatment is given to the 1999/00 season, when Burnley won promotion from the third tier of English football under the management of Stan Ternent. There are other noteworthy retro features also within the programme. ‘Snapshot’ reproduces a picture from the archives across most of a two-page spread, with associated commentary. The image used in the Norwich City issue is a black and white shot of Clarets legend Jimmy McIlroy running through a local park in his Burnley kit. ‘The Last Word’ meanwhile has a former Burnley player selecting highlights from their time with the club, as well as offering their thoughts on the current squad.
The main player feature runs to six pages, which here focuses on Clarets goalkeeper Nick Pope. As elsewhere in the programme, the feature is provided with simple, plain backgrounds that makes the issue easy to read through and offers a clean feel throughout. ‘My Favourite Game’ sees one Burnley fan recalling their favourite memory of supporting the Clarets, while there is a two-page column from Tony Livesey, who here looks at former Burnley Chairman Bob Lord. There is also an article from ‘Clarets Player’ commentator Phil Bird and a feature called ‘Kitted Out’, which invites one Burnley player to showcase their favourite match shirts from their collection.
‘Turf’ is also strong on club information. There are columns from boss Sean Dyche, captain Ben Mee, and Chairman Mike Garlick, as well as two pages of news. Previous match coverage is presented across two pages, which gives plenty of room for an action picture from the game. This is complemented by a brief match report, stats, and line-ups. There are two pages for each of Burnley’s women’s team, youth side, and development squad, with match reports, player profiles, fixtures and results, and league tables. The first-team’s season spread is well laid out, with good use of club colours to present the information clearly. The Burnley issue this season also features four detachable cards as a fold-out from the back cover. These show memorable players and shirts from the past, each with details of their significance on the reverse.
The visitors section covers seven pages, which are typically well laid out with the opponents’ club colours to the fore. The first page provides a summary of the club’s season to date, as well as a few historical notes, which are followed by a profile of the visiting manager. A sidebar presents key club information, including the year of founding, ground information, recent form, and club record holders. There then follow four pages of pen-pics with one player identified as the visitors’ ‘Star Man’. The section is capped off with an ‘Icon’ article, which looks at a legendary figure from the visiting club’s history.
There is no better designed issue in the league than Burnley’s ‘Turf’ and the standards they have set from previous seasons are maintained here. As one of only four issues in the Premier League costing just £3 the Burnley programme provides excellent value for money, with a good range of readable features, extensive club information, and well presented visitors information.