We continue our series of Premier League programme reviews with a look at Leicester City’s issue for 2021/22. Read our full review below and click here to see all of the other issues for the season.
The Foxes have produced a programme of a consistently high standard for many years now and this season’s is no exception. Packed full of interesting, well-researched original content, and with extensive information on both Leicester and their match opponents, this is a very classy issue. The programme also benefits from design and layout work across its 84 perfect-bound pages that demonstrates the benefits of keeping things simple.
The central feature of the programme is an extended historical section under the title ‘City Heritage’, which pulls together a first-class selection of retro features. ‘Former Player Remembers’ takes the form of an interview with one ex-Leicester player over five pages – reflecting on their time with the Foxes and other key career memories. ‘Football Pioneers’ comes out of the club’s partnership with De Montfort University, in a continuing feature that profiles those players who “contributed to the growth and development of the game”.
‘Programme Vault’ looks at matchday programmes from each of four seasons where the cover design featured something other than a simple player image. ‘Leicester City Locations’ is another fascinating historical piece, which examines places of significance in the history of the club. The piece is accompanied by various images, including maps and documents that help bring the story to life. ‘Unseen Treasures’ spotlights various items from the club’s archives, while ‘A World in One City’ spotlights overseas players who have represented Leicester, and ‘City in 100 Players’ provides profiles of the greatest players to have appeared for the club in their 137-year history.
This consistently high-quality content includes several of the best and most original features produced by any club during the 2021/22 season, with great credit due to all involved in compiling the various articles. In addition to the City Heritage section, each issue also carries an extended player interview over eight pages, a column from former player and now club ambassador Alan Birchenall MBE, and a page of content for junior supporters.
The visitors section extends to 12 pages, with a double-page opening picture spread that shows an image from a recent match. A brief introductory article sits alongside club details, head-to-head information, and current season stats. There is a full-page profile of the team’s manager, and player profiles for ‘The Key Three’ and ‘The Main Threat’. ‘A Little Bit of History’ tells the story of a notable match from the visiting club’s past, while ‘Derby Days’ looks at the club’s main local rivals, examining the history between them. ‘Captain Fantastic’ meanwhile is a new feature for the 2021/22 season, spotlighting a current or former captain of the opposition who has made a special contribution to the club. There is also a short article that looks at the most recent meeting of the two teams. Overall, an excellent level of coverage for the visiting team.
Each issue also offers up a detailed look at all aspects of Leicester City, with coverage of the club’s women’s team worthy of note. There are six pages of coverage for the team newly promoted to the WSL for the 2021/22 season, including a player interview and a record of results and fixtures. There are also six pages on the club’s academy, a first-team stats section that covers three pages, and information on the club’s community work.
Overall, a fantastic issue that provides some of the best reading to be found in any current programme. Blended with simple but effective page designs and in-depth club and opposition coverage, the Leicester issue has a coherent and logical flow that makes it stand out as one of the league’s best programmes.