Programmes

& fanzines

Pile them up in the spare bedroom

Season 2000-2001 (so far)

Brentford (31 Mar) by Daniel Jennings

• Cost: £2. Pages: 48 including covers.
• Good things: 'Non-league Scene' - quite interesting. 'Fanszone'. An FA Cup semis preview compiled from fans of the competing teams.
• Bad things: The 'background' - chequered in some parts, making it a bit weird on the eyes. Bizarre things: So many pages of fans' views - although they're very good. Huge focus on Wrexham's recent history, with the players lucky to get seven words each.
• Great one-liner: 'Sir Alex Ferguson's son Darren (10) is suspended today so Paul Barrett (12) (ex-Newcastle) should be in midfield with veteran Kevin Russell (8) (ex-Portsmouth, Leicester, Stoke, Burnley, Peterborough, Cardiff, Hereford, Bournemouth and Notts County) with long-serving duo Gareth Owen (4) and Waynne Phillips (11) coming into contention' (p.27)
• Verdict: Brilliant. 9/10.

FANZINE

Hey Jude Varied, great red, white and black cover, 'world exclusive' Lloyd Owusu interview, bits of poetry, £1 for a chunky mag, lots of risque jokes, no page numbers. Not bad at all.

Peter Davies

Port Vale (3 Apr) by Daniel Jennings

• Cost: £1. Pages: 48 including covers.
• Good things: '10 Best Last-Minute Goals'.
• Bad things: The programme was the one for the orginally-scheduled match between the two sides and, therefore, EVERYTHING was out of date. Also, the centre-page spread - a two-page colour pic of nothing in particular.
• Bizarre things: In the Wrexham section Dearden's profile appears twice.
• Great one-liner: 'Some argued Glass shouldn't even have been playing for United, as he was allowed to sign after the deadline due to a keeper crisis at Brunton Park. So, on the last day of the season, it was even more galling for Scarborough when Glass went up for a 90th-minute corner and drove in for a 2-1 win, condemning the Yorkshire club to non-league football.' (p.15 - after keeper Glass kept Carlisle up last year).
• Verdict: Only one good article. 3/10.

FANZINE

Derek I'm Gutted I picked this up outside the ground for £1. It's got the expected swipes at Stoke throughout, especially as this was after Vale had recently beaten their hatred rivals 2-1. The fanzine motto 'Be Loyal, Be Proud, Beat Stoke' sums up the philosophy of the production. The cartoon work takes up the majority of the fanzine and they are a great laugh. Personally, I prefer to read fans' views more. The pen-scribbles and crossings-out give this a real fanzine feel, but it seems rather lacking in fans' contributions.

Gareth Venn