On This Day today features Ipswich Town’s programme from 2001/02 – a season in which the club would somewhat surprisingly be relegated following their excellent form in 2000/01. Read our notes on the programme below and see all the top-flight issues from 2001/02 here.
Having been recognised for the quality of their programme on their first season back in the top-flight in 2000/01, Ipswich returned for the 2001/02 season with another worthy effort. The programme made use of an internet browser style bar at the top of each page, with a cursor pointing to the title of the content. The motif looks rather dated now, somewhat dominating the appearance of the various pages by taking up a decent chunk of space.
The programme certainly contained plenty of reading, with one of the best columns being ‘Then & Now’. This article featured former Town midfielder John Elsworthy, who joined the club from Newport County in 1949 and spent 16 years at the club, winning the League Championship under Sir Alf Ramsey in 1962. An in-depth interview, spread over two pages, the feature included ‘1949 and All That’ – a collection of notable moments that year from the sporting world and beyond.
Manager George Burley penned a column in which he distanced himself from links with the Scotland job that had recently become available following the departure of Craig Brown. There was also a lengthy column from David Sheepshanks, in which the Ipswich Chairman discussed the ongoing dispute between the PFA and Premiership, which had raised the possibility of a player strike. Captain Matt Holland meanwhile commented on missing Ipswich’s last game following 223 successive appearances for the club.
The programme featured a four-page interview with Ipswich striker Marcus Stewart, who reflected on the challenge of playing at European level through the club’s involvement in the UEFA Cup, as well as his hopes for international recognition with England.
Coverage of recent matches took the form of a ‘Photo Story’ with several action shots from the game under report, alongside line-ups, match details, and key quotes. There were also several pages of news updates from around the club. Ipswich’s reserve team were covered in ‘Second Thoughts’ while recent signing Thomas Gaardsoe was profiled in a separate article. The club’s under-17 and under-19 teams were the focus of ‘Academy Update’ with a good level of detail, including results and tables, included. There were also four pages of stats on the first-team.
Matchday opponents Everton were covered across six pages, with an opening article focusing on Paul Gascoigne and his fortunes at the club since signing for manager Walter Smith on a free transfer in July 2000. The section featured profiles of goalkeeper Paul Gerrard, midfielder Thomas Gravesen, and striker Kevin Campbell, as well as Smith. Tomasz Radzinksi was the subject of a two-page article and there were sidebars with notable club records and ‘snaphots’ of quirky moments from the club’s history. ‘Chat Room’ meanwhile continued the IT-related design theme with a discussion between a supporter from each club.
This was in many ways a fine programme from Ipswich, with a decent amount of content provided. The design work however was quite inconsistent, with several pages having a rather cluttered appearance as a result of variations in text size and column layout. The result was somewhat hard on the eyes, but this was nonetheless another good Ipswich issue.