The final review in our analysis of the 2019/20 Premier League programmes is published today, as we take a look at the Southampton issue. Read our full review below and click here to see all of the current season issues and reviews. We will be announcing the winner of our Programme of the Season Award later this week, so watch this space for more information!
This season’s Saints programme feels very similar to last year’s issue, benefiting from a strong consistent design. This starts with a well-designed cover that includes some striking photography and continues with the use of various recurring motifs through the issue.
One of the key features of this year’s Southampton programme is the coverage of the away team. Each issue contains a section called ‘The Away End’, which is accessed by flipping the programme to reveal a second ‘cover’. This shows an image from a recent game played by the visitors. Inside there are nine pages of coverage for the opponents, opening with a page of useful information for travelling supporters (including the time of the last train home!) An eye-catching two-page spread provides various details about the club, set against the backdrop of a picture of their stadium tinted with the club’s colours. The pages show the club’s honours, recent form, and the team’s overall record at St Mary’s. ‘Moment in Time’ reproduces a picture from the archives that shows a past clash between Southampton and their visitors. There are pictures, but no biographical detail, of the opposition squad, with one player singled out as ‘One to Watch’, together with brief notes on their form, while the club’s manager is afforded a similarly brief profile. ‘Tactics Board’ shows the likely formation the team will take-up, while ‘The Team Talk’ provides a more in-depth assessment of the way the team plays.
The best content in the issue comes in a nine-page retro section called ‘The Rest is History’, which contains several historical articles. The section opens with a well-designed page that features a shot of the club’s old ground at the Dell, as well as several legendary figures (including Le Tissier, Keegan, and Channon) from the club’s past. ‘Derby Daze’ is a look back at clashes with local rivals Portsmouth and Bournemouth, with the aid of various press clippings from down the years. For the Chelsea issue, ‘Inside the Memory Box’ featured the recollections of Jim McCalliog, part of Saints’ FA Cup winning side of 1976.
One of the best features from last season’s programmes was ‘That Reminds Me’, which continues this year, looking back at the life and career of a former Saint. This season, the article is on occasion replaced by ‘Searching for Ex-Saints’, which looks at how the club’s official historians have happened upon information about past players, often quite by chance. ‘Diamond Saints’ goes all the way back to the 1959/60 season, when Southampton won the Third Division title. The feature contains details of each match played during the victorious campaign and offers player profiles and news on other footballing headlines from the time, including the fortunes of Saints’ matchday opponents.
The main player feature in the programme runs to eight pages, although this is a rather photograph heavy article, with only the equivalent of two pages of text included. ‘Best of the Saints’ is a two-page feature that invites one former Southampton player to recall his best moments at the club. There is a seven-page junior section, which is contained within the regular pages of the programme, rather than being a separate pull-out.
There are columns from manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, captain Danny Ings, and former player Francis Benali, while ‘Inside SO14’ offers a couple of pages of club news. ‘Inside Staplewood’ has a couple of pages of news from the academy, which for the Chelsea issue looked at the work undertaken to identify and support talented youngsters at various age groups. There are also two pages on Southampton Women, with news, reports, and fixture details, and four pages on the Saints Foundation. In addition, there are a couple of pages of very basic player profiles, before the usual double-page season results and fixtures spread.
The team behind the Southampton programme deserve credit for trying something different with the double-cover for each issue and the design work throughout the programme is worthy of credit. The historical articles are well worth reading but, while the programme remains the only one in the league to cost £4, the issue lacks the weight of content to justify the cost.