2002/03

Programme Reviews

Key

PP = Total Pages

Net = Total Pages Less Adverts

P = Perfect Bound

S = Stapled

Arsenal (v Bolton Wanderers 21/09/02)

£2.50 (68 pp / 54 net / S)

Aston Villa (v Fulham 09/11/02)

£2.00 (48 pp / 36 net / S)

Birmingham City (v Liverpool 23/02/03)

£2.50 (68 pp / 47 net / S)

Blackburn Rovers (v Tottenham Hotspur 06/10/02)

£2.50 (76 pp / 59.5 net / S)

Bolton Wanderers (v West Bromwich Albion 09/11/02)

£2.50 (68 pp / 44 net / S)

Charlton Athletic (v Manchester City 14/12/02)

£2.50 (68 pp / 49.5 net / S)

Chelsea (v Aston Villa 21/12/02)

£3.00 (68 pp / 47.5 net / S)

Everton (v Middlesbrough 14/09/02)

£2.50 (60 pp / 46 net / S)

Fulham (v Sunderland 01/03/03)

£2.50 (68 pp / 50 net / S)

Leeds United (v Blackburn Rovers 26/04/03)

£3.00 (76 pp / 51.5 net / S)

Liverpool (v Newcastle United 02/09/02)

£2.50 (60 pp / 41.5 net / S)

Liverpool’s 2002/03 programme was one of the smaller issues in the league, with only three clubs offering fewer pages of content.

Probably the best feature in the programme is the ‘Nostalgia’ section, which covers memorable clashes between the Reds and the Magpies. Among the fixtures recalled here is Liverpool’s 5-0 demolition of Newcastle in March 1972 – although the notes make mention of the number of saves made that day be Liverpool goalkeeper Ray Clemence, which gave the scoreline its one-sided nature. The column also recalls the famous 1996 clash and Stan Collymore’s late winner. The previous season’s fixtures are also covered, alongside an overall head to head record and various facts related to the matchup.

In respect of other content, ‘On The Spot’ is a four-page interview with one Liverpool player – here featuring goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. ‘Euro Spy’ looks at events across the major European leagues, while ‘Premier Rivals’ gathers together news from around the top-flight.

There are four pages given over to coverage of Newcastle, which include a profile of manager Sir Bobby Robson; pen-pics of key squad members; and an overview that covers the club’s form and recent transfer activity.

In terms of club information, the programme goes into some depth on the club’s various sides, with two pages on Liverpool’s academy teams at under-17 and under-19 level, and one on the reserves team. There is also a detailed first-team stats section, spread over three pages, although coverage of recent matches is more limited, comprised of an action shot from the game together with some words from Assistant Manager Phil Thompson.

The programme benefits from a tidy and consistent design throughout, making good use of colour to mark out the different sections. Ultimately though, this is an issue that lacks the level of content of the better programmes in the league.

Manchester City (v Chelsea 19/10/02)