In a new series, we will be reviewing matchday programmes during the season.

Whyteleafe – £1
A pound?  For a programme?  Yes please I will have three for that.  Whyteleafe’s programme isn’t the best in the league with few articles but for £1 it is worth the read that should get you through half time.  We loved the away team profiles that included their occupation – a first for us this season (North Greenford United had 3 Electricians don’t you know). They could easily add value to the match day programme by putting in a quiz or an article or two from Non League Notes for instance.  But on the whole if they are selling it for £1 and making money, good luck to them.

TBIR says…..2.5 out of 5

Kingstonian FC – £2
There are non-league programmes and then there is the Kingstonian offering.  At £2 they are selling themselves far too short.  Yes it is a black and white offering, but my God, it is stacked with stats, facts and figures.  Best, smallest, average attendances, goals, points you name it.  League tables from virtually every non league in England.  I fail to see how you can even get through half of it in half time.  If every club had a fraction of this as content it would make every fan very happy.

TBIR says……4 out of 5

Hendon FC – £2
You cannot compare the programme from Cheshunt and the one from Hendon.  Different leagues yet the same price point.  All colour, 28 pages with only 7 of adverts.  Some great content as well – an interesting piece on Football Governance, two decent match reports, a “On this day” feature and various updates from around the club.  If only every club put the kind of simple effort into their matchday programme.  Ample of reading material for a half time break.

TBIR Says….4 out of 5

Cheshunt FC – £2
This is one purely for the collector I am afraid.  Two pounds seems a very high price for what is essentially a 32 page photocopy.  Only two pages of colour exist, both inside covers and they are adverts.  In fact there are 14 pages of adverts in total.  There are a few interesting areas – for this FA Cup game there was a list of all of the Amber’s results in the competition, and there was a comprehensive review of events elsewhere in the Ryman Leagues although it appears this is just taken from the Isthmian League’s weekly update email.  Match reports are very short and have no pictures.   With so many people willing to offer content to Non League programme editors these days it isn’t difficult to put something different in a programme, or even get fans to contribute.  For £2 this is a poor value programme when compared to some of the others below.

TBIR Says…..1 out of 5

Metropolitan Police FC – £1.50
One of the cheaper all colour programmes you will find in the non leagues this year. With only 8 pages of the 28 taken by adverts there is potential here, but early in the season there was little in the way of content.  The match review from the away trip to Lewes was well written and amusing, there are three pages of “pen pics” for both the home and away teams and an useful club directory in the back inside cover.

TBIR Says……3 out of 5

Horsham FC – £2
Now this is a decent non league programme.  Full colour with about half given over to ads.  But what makes this a really decent read is the stats section.  A double page spread on each of the Ryman Premier, North and South including league table, top attendances, top scorers and a write up of what happened in the last set of games.  There is also a good historic report, in this edition versus Lewes, from a game in 1946 as well as a report from the last game between the two sides.  All in all a great example of how a non league programme can be.

TBIR Says…….4 out of 5

Three Bridges – £1
Normally I would lay into a programme that had 36 of its 48 pages full of adverts but hear me out.  Firstly, Three Bridges are a Sussex League team.  Secondly, the 12 pages they do have with editorial include comprehensive stats about the league and finally despite it having £1 on the front, it is actually given away free when you pay for admission.  So you cannot complain at that.  I get the feeling that most editions this season will contain the same adverts, with just a couple of updated pages inserted in.  But with a print run of sub 100 for each game it is a good effort.

TBIR says….3 out of 5

Lowestoft Town – £2
I always feel guilty when I criticise non league programmes but having worked significantly on trying to help clubs, offering free advice and free articles it is inevitable.  Whilst the Trawler Boys offer a hospitable welcome to away fans, their programme doesn’t get the pulse racing.  Far too many adverts, squashing some decent content (we loved the On this Day page) and a bizarre almost blank double page spread in the middle.

I know it is a hard job and a labour of love but I would urge the club to buy a copy of one wherever they go this season and see how other clubs approach a traditional, yet modern, football programme.

TBIR Says….2 out of 5

Brighton & Hove Albion’s Seagull – £3
The first thing you notice in picking up a copy of The Seagull, Brighton’s new matchday magazine is the weight.  It is a heavy bugger.  It feels like a prospectus or a corporate brochure.  Granted this was for the first big game at the new Amex stadium against Spurs, but even so, it was an impressive read and could easily entertain the neutral for an hour or so.

The programme had a detailed look at the whole ground planning, setbacks, construction and opening story as well as an indepth series of interviews with people like the construction project manager.  A decent set of information on the away team that hasn’t been taken from Wikipedia as well.  The centre pages have a great set of stats for the nerds among us.

Printed on high quality paper, with adverts discrete and kept to a minimum this is a Premier League offering without having too much PR and spin. The acid test will be in a few months time when home fans will want something new to look at, but based on this offering it is hard to see, like the rest of their ground, who can beat Brighton’s offering.

TBIR Says……5 out of 5