Today we take a look at Liverpool’s 2020/21 programme in the latest in our series of top-flight reviews. Read our review below and click here to see all of the Premier League issues for the season.
Liverpool’s programme retains the 84-page perfect-bound format from last season, with each issue benefiting from the high-quality design that characterised last term’s programme. Page layouts are attractively put-together, with consistent motifs throughout and good use of the club’s home and away colours.
The opposition section of the programme devotes only five pages to coverage of the visiting club, but what is there is certainly well put together. Contents include a profile of the club’s manager, a photograph from a recent match that includes information on some of the players shown, and article on the team’s recent form, and two pages of basic pen-pics, which are well presented.
Related content includes ‘Back Story’, which goes back in time to recall a moment of significance from a match-up between Liverpool and their visitors. There is also a two-page feature that recalls last season’s meeting between the two clubs, and ‘Head-to-Head’, which includes various stats related to the day’s match.
Other readable features include the always impressive ‘Big Read’, a longer-form piece spread over eight pages, which remains the centrepiece of the programme’s original content. The ‘Anfield Extra’ section offers a look at programmes from past meetings with the day’s opponents, including some images from a notable issue, while there are two current player features – a four-page interview and a separate Q&A, and a page for junior supporters.
The programme also offers up a good level of detail when it comes to club news and information. In addition to the usual manager and captain columns, ‘Countdown to Kick-Off’ presents recent news and a look ahead to the day’s fixture. The programme devotes pages to a write-up of the club’s academy and women’s teams, including details of results and fixtures for each team. Match reports from previous first-team games are well handled and include pictures, line-ups, stats, and commentary on key moments. There are also five pages of first-team and Premier League stats at the end of each issue.
The Reds programme offers a nice mix of content and, given the quality of the design work, is always a pleasure to read through. The opposition coverage could benefit from a few more pages specifically on the visiting club – such as notes on aspects of the club’s history or some tactical analysis, but overall this remains an impressive programme.