Today’s ‘On This Day’ features the Bournemouth programme from the 2017/18 season, which took second place in our inaugural Programme of the Season Awards. Read the review below and see all the other top flight issues from 2017/18 here.
Bournemouth’s ‘Matchday’ issue is reduced in size this season, coming down from last year’s 110-page effort to a ‘mere’ 100 pages, though still packs in plenty of quality content.
The programme benefits from a good, clear cover design featuring a profile picture of a Bournemouth player and the club crests for the day’s fixture. Club information is well represented throughout, with columns from the manager, chairman, and captain occupying two pages each, and impressive coverage of recent matches, with full match stats, photos, and a brief report. Double-page spreads on the Under-21s and Under 18s include interviews with a member of each squad alongside the season’s results and there is also two pages on the club’s ladies team. The first team’s stats section has the usual two-page season record, alongside player information and league stats.
The visitor’s section is very well presented, with pages trimmed with the club’s colours. Covering ten pages, the section begins with a full-page picture of an opposition player in action. A good introductory article and manager profile are followed by detailed pen-pics on the squad. An opposition supporter then picks a ‘Cult Hero’ from the club’s past, while ‘Shirt Tales’ looks at a player who represented both the Cherries and their visitors, and highlights some of the shirts worn during their career. Another visitor related section, coming later in the programme, sees James Horncastle profile Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. The article is a quality addition to the standard visitor content usually provided.
The programme also features a good number of readable features. There is a ten-page player interview, which has one Cherries player answering questions provided by fans on social media. A history section includes several interesting articles. ‘Dean Court Days’, a reference to Bournemouth’s previous home ground, covers seven pages, starting with ‘On This Day’, which selects certain matches of interest from this day in history. ‘Past Masters’ then relates the story of a former player and ‘Fan Favourites’ sees one supporter picking various favourite items, such as players, managers, and shirts. ‘Five Years in Five Games’ tells the story of key moments from manager Eddie Howe’s time in charge at Bournemouth. ‘We’re on Our Way’ is a useful feature for fans planning to follow Bournemouth in their next away game, including travel information and information about the ground they will be visiting. The programme is concluded with a separate pull-out section for young supporters, called ‘Extra Time’.
This is a very strong issue from Bournemouth, deservedly taking its place amongst the highest-rated programmes in the league. Some more in-depth historical features would complement the other content, especially given Bournemouth’s dramatic rise through the divisions in recent times. However, any criticisms like this must be considered minor with so many positive aspects contributing to a fine programme.