Programmes

& fanzines

Pile them up in the spare bedroom

Season 2001-2 (so far)

Rushden & D by Simon Irving:

Front cover? Club badges of host club, Wrexham and R&D; black PC graphics on yellow paper; fixture, date, etc; two welcome messages, NTFC website address, plus ads for local radio, newspaper and an upholsterer!

Value for money? Only just! One sheet of yellow A4 printed both sides, folded A5.

Decent content? Aside from the cover…back page had squad lists, 'today's officials' and a welcome/introductory/summary piece from the VC of NT, plus forthcoming fixtures. The middle pages were devoted to the two competing teams.

Attractive design? Adequate.

Best article? The R&D history was the most useful.

Overall? Average - but appropriate given the nature of the fixture.

Mold Alex by Simon Irving:

Front cover? Functional. Artistic general-footballer drawing; nice fonts used - clear text.

Value for money? 36 pages for 50p - what more could you ask for?

Decent content? Club info, honours, editorial, two 1931 Wrexham poems(!), Walter Jones profile , Wrexham player pen-pics, league history, 2000-1 WNL review, Mold Alex player pen-pics, squads, WNL structure 2001-2, excellent quiz, news, 14 pages of adverts.

Attractive design? Basic but clear.

Best article? The WJ profile was essential reading.

Overall? Can't fault it - this club has heart and the programme reflects that. Reasonable price, as were all things at MAFC.

IOM Tournament by Daniel Jennings:

Front cover? Very Manx.

Value for money? £3 for 22 pages including cover (10½ of which were adverts).

Decent content? I enjoyed reading the review on the Manx league season – it’s quite interesting if you travel over regularly for the tournament to see how they’re progressing, or not as this year proved. Most of the big adverts (that filled up a page each) were relevant for football fans visiting the island. The programme also included directions to the three grounds being used for the festival. The centre pages had a score-chart – you could fill in the results, scorers, man-of-the-matches and league table. But it just seemed like an excuse to fill an extra two pages.

Attractive design? The programme was A4 size. It’s not too bad on holiday but it really would annoy you if you had one that size in the league (anyone remember Crewe’s a few years back?)

Best article? The review on every team was very good – by local pressmen.

Overall? Very interesting, a bit expensive (8 out of 10)