Our review today turns the spotlight on Southampton’s programme for the 2021/22 season. Take a look at our full review below, and click here to see all the Premier League issues for the season.
The cover of Southampton’s issue marks 20 years of the club playing at Saint Mary’s Stadium, with pictures of several players past and present. Inside, each issue has similarities to last season’s programme, being made up of 68 perfect-bound pages and retaining many of the same features.
The main original content is included in a section called ‘The Rest is History’. This includes a feature called ‘That Reminds Me’, in which David Bull recalls stories of interest from the past. ‘Once Known at This Address’ provides a profile of one former player with connections to both the Saints and their visitors for the day. ‘20 Years of Saint Mary’s’ includes a look back at classic matches that have taken place since Southampton’s move to the stadium from the Dell. The article includes a match report, quotes, and line up details. Other original content comes in the form of an interview with a current player, which runs to eight pages, while there is also a seven-page section for junior supporters. Former favourite Francis Benali also contributes a column called ‘The Final Word’.
Opposition coverage is sadly somewhat limited, being restricted to just four pages. These open with a short introductory article on the team’s recent form, before highlighting three key players to watch from the visitors’ ranks. There is also a short profile of the club’s manager. This is followed by an impressive column called ‘Tactical Watch’, which is a well put together piece looking at how the opposing team prefer to play, including their likely line up in a formation graphic, accompanied by brief notes on a few of the players.
Club information includes a couple of pages of content for Southampton’s women’s team, including match updates, player interviews, results, and fixtures, while ‘Inside Staplewood’ is a behind the scenes look are the club’s academy. There is a column from the head coach, a couple of pages of news in ‘Inside SO14’, and a five-page statistics section that includes tables for each of the club’s teams, basic stats for each member of the first team squad, and a traditional fixtures and results spread. Each issue also includes a couple of pages on the Saints Foundation.
The Saints issue is a very tidy programme, featuring nice design touches such as some well-used recurring motifs. However, the issue lacks the depth of content to compete with the better issues in the league and would also benefit from more in-depth coverage of the visiting team.