The latest in our series of Premier League programme reviews is published today with a look at Tottenham’s matchday issue. Read our full review below and click here to see all of the 2019/20 programmes.
The Spurs programme has reduced in size for the new season, going from a 100-page issue last time out to an 84-page issue for 2019/20. With the advert count also being quite high, the programme has only 62 pages of content, with only three issues in the league containing fewer pages.
Nevertheless, there are some worthwhile features included in the programme. ‘Local Hero’ is an interesting two-page article that recalls the career of a player spotted by Tottenham’s youth scouts, who went on to star in the Spurs first team. In the Southampton issue for example the player featured was Tony Marchi, who made his Tottenham debut as a 17-year-old in April 1950. ‘Super Sub’ is an occasional feature, that looks back at a match in which a substitute has made a memorable impact. For the Southampton issue, the focus was on Ronny Rosenthal’s performance in a 1995 FA Cup tie at the Dell, in which he came off the bench to score a hat-trick. The article includes a report on the game, match stats, and words from the player himself. ‘Back Post’ is related to the day’s fixture, with club historian John Fennelly looking at connections between Spurs and their matchday opponents, in the shape of various players who had either played for both clubs or who had memorable achievements against them.
The Saints issue also contained a two-page column about Spurs legend Steve Perryman, who had made his debut for the club 50 years previously. The article included a couple of pictures from Perryman’s time at the club and a ‘Factfile’ box with key highlights and landmarks from his career. ‘Euro Zone’ is a welcome addition for this season, being a two-page feature that looks ahead to Euro 2020 by providing analysis of countries that will be taking part in the tournament. This includes information on their record in the competition, key players, and any Spurs connections in the squad.
The main current day content in the Spurs programme is a five-page player feature. This is rather heavy on use of photographs, with only just over a page and a half of text. ‘1882’ is another current player article, which takes the form of a Q&A, and which takes its title from the year of the club’s founding. There is also a junior supporter pull-out section called ‘Junior Match Zone’ that includes a poster, competitions, and a message-board for younger fans.
The visitors’ coverage is spread over six pages and is comprised predominantly of player pen-pics and bios. The section is presented with a large club crest and basic club information, as well as brief notes on the team’s manager. Alongside the various pen-pics are stats that show details such as the club’s ten-year record and goal times. One player from the visitors’ ranks is singled out as ‘One to Watch’, with a more detailed write-up, while other squad members have only basic biographical information. Whilst certainly packing in a lot of detail into the opposition coverage, the overall feeling of the section is rather busy, with the layouts resulting in a somewhat cluttered appearance.
In terms of other related content, ‘Scene Setter’ previews the day’s fixture through a form guide, details of previous meetings, and an extensive collection of stats, with some creative graphics that include the opposition club’s previous line-up and formation.
There are the usual notes from the manager, while previous matches are covered in great statistical depth in ‘Action Replay’. This includes various images from the game alongside full match details and a host of stats. Academy coverage is spread over six pages, with three each for the under-23s and under-18s. The depth of coverage of each team is excellent, with match reports, pictures, tables, stats, and player profiles. Similar coverage is given to Tottenham’s women’s team, with each of the three sides’ pages individually colour coded but benefiting from similar layouts to give a welcome feeling of consistency. There are then three pages of first team and Premier League stats.
This Tottenham programme is perhaps a little thin on readable content, with most of the articles included being quite short, with the amount of photographic and statistical content feeling a little too much like padding. Some of the articles do hold the readers interest but the overall weight of content feels rather light.