Programmes

& fanzines

Pile them up in the spare bedroom

Season 2000-2001 (so far)

Oldham (10 Feb) by David Jennings

Cost: £2.
Pages: 52 including covers.
Good things: 'The Latics Files' - four pages of latest football info; 'Trivia Time', 'The Third Eye' - unusual football-related stories; 'The Gary Kelly Interview'; and 'The Final Word' regarding Jermaine Defoe's 'record' goalscoring.
Bad things: The persistent use of a blue background - they might as well have printed it on blue paper. The Football Information Service's stats - they are finally starting to annoy me.
Bizarre things: Original Wrexham player info - a picture of Macca from 1995. The Oldham Athletic AFC Limited Customer Charter.
Great one-liner: Andy Ritchie: 'Wrexham like to play good football so hopefully it will be an attractive spectacle with us coming out on top.' Also: 'Wrexham are dependent on a tight back division to go with an aggressive, competitive midfield and a very useful attack.'
Verdict: Very good. 7/10.


FANZINE
Beyond The Boundary Online
This is a very smart cyber version of the Latics' main fanzine. Stats, profiles, news, gossip, interactive features - they're all there. The highlight, however, is an online poll. The question? 'Chaddy the Owl is…a) Bloody irritating b) Harmless fun c) Tacky and naff d) Brierley in costume e) Great for kids f) Chinese Elvis?' The Oldham mascot is obviously a big issue.
Peter Davies

Poland v Wales by Peter Davies

Cost: 5 Zlotych.
Pages: 32 A3-zize.
Good things: Colourful, glossy. The 'o' in 'Polska' on the front cover is a black and white football. Very clver.
Bad things: I don't understand any of the articles.
Bizarre things: Wales in Polish is 'Walia'. There are gigantic pen pix of the Poland players but none of the Wales players. Shouldn't it be the other way round?
Great one-liner: 'Najwieksza gwiazda, I to pierwszej wielkosci, jest skrzydlowy Manchesteru United, Ryan Giggs' (possibly, 'Wales have only one decent player, Manchester United's Ryan Giggs'), p.28.
Verdict: Very Polish.

Wales v Australia: RL World Cup (19 Nov) by Peter Davies

Cost: £3.
Pages: 64 plus cover.
Good things: Glossy, well written, thorough, efficiently topical.
Bad things: No squad numbers next to players' names.
Bizarre things: Strange advert featuring Iestyn Harris and a silver Tissot watch.
Great one-liner: 'The international development of the sport has been a slow but deliberate process.' (Sir Rodney Walker, p.5)
Verdict: Excellent. Really excellent.

Wales 'A' v England 'A' RU International (2 Feb) by Peter Davies

Cost: £2.
Pages: 26 plus covers.
Good things: Varied, colourful, nice cute A5-ish shape. Lots of helpful scene-setting articles for the non-rugby fan.
Bad things: Not sure £2 for 26 pages equates to good value for money.
Bizarre things: Photo of Tom Shanklin (Saracens) looks a bit odd (p.12).
Great one-liner: 'Despite being a partner in a busy veterinary practice in Dolgellau, Iwan (Wyn Parry) regularly sings on concert platforms throughout the UK and abroad' (p.4).
Verdict: Solid.