This post shows all of the programme covers from the first round of matches in 2020, played on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd January.
This week we saw a couple of retro covers, on the programmes produced by Manchester City and Arsenal. The City programme for their game against Everton featured the legendary figure of Francis Lee. The famous picture shows Lee celebrating a goal in the 4-3 win at Newcastle United on the last day of the 1967/68 season that secured the title for the blue half of City, who took the title by two points ahead of Manchester United. The Gunners meanwhile marked the visit of Manchester United with a cover featuring former forwards Niall Quinn of Arsenal and Norman Whiteside of Manchester United. The match in question was George Graham’s first in charge at Highbury, taking place on the opening day of the 1986/87 season. Arsenal won the game 1-0 with a goal from Charlie Nicholas.
Elsewhere, the Burnley and Norwich issues once again stood out with their striking cover designs. The Canaries’ series of covers featuring current players in retro kits depicted on this occasion Norwich midfielder Todd Cantwell and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha in their clubs’ respective kits from the late 1990s. Another programme that is worthy of mention is Southampton’s issue, which this season has featured separate home and away covers. This tweet from SFC Programmes shows both sets of covers from the first half of the season.