Programmes
& fanzines
Pile them up in the spare bedroom
Season 2001-2002 (so far)
Colchester by Alun Thomas
Front cover? Colourful and eyecatching, a smiling U's player 'pointing the way'.
Value for money? Yes, at £2 for 64 pages, of which a quarter are adverts.
Decent content? Yes - quite varied. The usual features interspersed with some novel ideas, including 'Boss For A Day', where a selected supporter deals with imaginary managerial problems. Plus 'History Repeated' on page 13, which looks back at page 13s from programmes of yesteryear. Also - 'Wirral In The World Is Tranmere?' Indeed.
Attractive design? Very.
Best article? Probably 'In The Hot Seat', a series looking back at previous Colchester managers. In this issue it was Roger Brown, who, by the sound of it, was far from the most popular gaffer ever to grace Layer Road!
Overall? A good read.
Brighton by James Morris
Front cover? Junior Lewis, a Brighton player, looking rather angry.
Value for money? £2 for 50 info-packed pages. Very good.
Decent content? Excellent. A real community-led feel to the programme, with plenty of support for their proposed new stadium at Falmer (including a letter from our very own Denis Smith!). Also a well-researched seven pages about Wrexham.
Attractive design? Blue and white, as you'd expect.
Best article? 'Where are They Now?', which chronicles some of the worst players ever to play for the Albion. In this issue, it's the turn of Jason Peake.
Overall? A top-class effort from a top- three team.
Port Vale by James Morris
Front cover? A Vale player battles with a QPR player. Fitting, that, for a game against Wrexham!
Value for money? £2 for 46 pages - not great.
Decent content? Very, very poor indeed. Unrelated article follows unrelated article. Also, far too many adverts. Wrexham feature a player called "Michael Blackpool" apparently! A dismal effort all round.
Attractive design? No. Looks to have been thrown together randomly. Very little pride evident in the publication.
Best article? A piece about the disgraced egg-chaser Martin Johnson. But what's it doing in a football programme?
Overall? A bit of a shambles.
Northampton by Alun Thomas
Front cover? Northampton boxer Alan Bosworth, in Cobblers kit, with his gloves on. An omen?
Value for money? £2 for 48 pages - definitely not.
Decent content? Nothing to write home about.
Attractive design? A lot of claret and not much else.
Best article? None - in fact the most interesting item is p.30, an advert for Avalon Print, showing a girl's legs and most of her bum. Seriously - it's that dull.
Overall? A poor show.