Today our attentions turn to South London and the programme produced by Crystal Palace for the 2021/22 season. Read our full review below and click here to see all of the season’s top-flight issues.
Palace have produced a 76-page, perfect-bound, A5 programme for the 2021/22 season. Each issue contains some highly readable features, although the overall ‘feel’ of the programme lacks coherence.
The best feature is ‘Peter Manning 1861’, which marks 160 years of Palace history with a look at the club in the years up to 1915. Author and supporter Peter Manning has penned a series of excellent articles that build into a valuable record of Palace’s early years and provide an insight into football at the time. For example, the programme for the visit of Southampton contained a column on Palace’s participation in the very first FA Cup competition in the 1871/72 season, which included an image of a winner’s medal from the time, as well as a picture of Palace player Cuthbert Ottaway, who would become England’s first recognised captain. A really well thought out piece.
‘Non-League Neighbours’ is another well written feature, looking at the fortunes of four non-league teams from South London – Beckenham Town, Bromley, Corinthian Casuals, and Holmesdale FC – providing a look at the positives and challenges of football outside of the league. There is another archive feature looking at various stories and characters from Palace’s history, as well as ‘Voices of South London’, which sheds light on the names and events that have shaped the area – through the eyes of various people associated with Palace. Each issue also offers an interview with one current player over 11 pages, including ‘The Follow Up’, in which the player is asked about their idols, and a column called ‘Writers’, which offers aspiring journalists the opportunity to gain some exposure by penning a feature about the club.
The section dedicated to the visiting club runs to ten pages and opens with a nicely designed page that includes the club crest. The contents of the section include a match preview, a look at the last five seasons, a form guide, and the team’s last result with line-up and formation details. There are pictures of the players over four pages, with short biographies of some key squad members, while former Palace favourite Darren Ambrose looks at the opposition and what to expect from the day’s fixture.
In terms of club information, the programme offers columns from manager, captain, and chairman, and a couple of pages on the club’s foundation. There is plenty of coverage of Palace’s other teams, with a dedicated academy section that includes a feature on one young prospect, a column from one of the academy coaches, and ‘Made in South London’, in which club historian Ian King recalls some of Palace’s best academy graduates. There are also interviews with members of the women’s team and a two-page spread with results, fixtures, tables, and player stats for each of the under-23, under-18, and women’s sides. The first team stats section includes the usual two-page season spread, the league table, and the day’s fixtures.
Whilst this programme lacks the level of original content that marks out the best issues in the league, there are a number of columns whose writers deserve credit. However, the issue suffers from some occasionally over fussy design work – such as article titles overlaid on page headings, some of which also include a picture – and the programme lacks a logical ‘flow’ with, for example, the academy section, women’s coverage, and the respective team’s stats, all apart from each other. A more coherent layout may help overcome the somewhat disjointed feel of the Palace issue as it stands.