Kevin Whitcher
Something a bit different today. I picked up a copy of the programme last Saturday, just to check what the club are producing this season and whether anything in particular captures my imagination (like the fascinating ‘Hidden Highbury’ series did in the 2005-06 campaign - the club should put this online). Also to check whether it was worth a regular investment of £3.50. I know a lot of people collect home programmes habitually, stick them in boxes up in the loft and rarely, if ever get them out. They are generally worth very little unless they are pre-1960 and a lot of them end up being recycled when people move and have a clear out. Anyway, as with the vast majority of print media (and The Gooner is no exception, currently in its last season of publication – the latest issue can be bought here), the numbers of copies sold are in decline, and I know of a few regulars that bought it for years and have simply stopped, realising they never look at them after they get home from the game, and don’t feel like they are getting £3.50’s worth from the content on the day.
A couple of things to note. There are 7,139 club level and 2,222 corporate box seats. All of those who attend in the middle tier get a free programme – so that’s close to 10,000 freebies. Additionally, last season you could download the matchday programme absolutely free on your smartphone or tablet using the #COYG app, if you just wanted to read the content without buying the physical item. Checking the app on my iPhone this morning I noted, a message at the top of the home page – “We’ll no longer be producing the #COYG matchday programme this season”. Further research online found this on the official website. Oh well, it was good while it lasted, but maybe physical sales were being hit too badly. I do recall they used to offer a paid for subscription to get the programme on your tablet, and am surprised they have not reverted to this model. Maybe there wasn’t enough take up.
One thing is certain, sales of the printed version are less at the new stadium than they were at Highbury, simply because the way supporters get their information about the club has changed. Some smaller clubs in Scotland have ceased producing programmes altogether. The vast majority of lower level clubs’ programmes are only produced due to the income they garner from the advertisers within. In as little as ten years, the phenomenon of the matchday programme could become a thing of the past for most clubs.
So anyway, let’s have a look at the content this season. The Junior Gunners pull out comes right at the front and has an A2 sized player poster on the reverse of the content. If you are talking bedroom wall fodder for anyone too young too remember the club’s last serious push at the title, then this is perfect. So that’s the kids taken care of. What do the grown ups get in the 84 pages that follow? There are columns from the manager and the non-playing captain (a fairly familiar state of affairs in recent seasons) which tell you very little. Six pages of ‘Voice of Arsenal’ are mainly information – the kind of stuff that was useful before the days of the internet. There is half a page of stats on the ref for the game which gives you an idea of whether or not he is good for Arsenal. The stats dispelled the Highbury Spy’s utter conviction that we always lose when we get Anthony Taylor, for example. Four pages reviewing youth matches, if that floats your boat, followed by a three page interview / profile of one of the youth squad. Might be interesting to look back on in a decade’s time if they actually make it. Two or three pages are dedicated to each recent fixture (depending on the result) with stats, brief write up and photos. I have yet to stumble across anything that is going to make me want to buy this regularly.
There’s a more interesting feature – That’s Me! - based on supporters that have appeared in a famous Arsenal photo. So we get the mascot from the first match at the Emirates telling his tale, and a request for other fans who have spotted themselves in a photo to get in touch. I wonder if the guy who photobombed the pic of the team with the European Cup Winners Cup trophy in Copenhagen in 1994 would be allowed to tell his tale!
There follows a four page feature called ‘Pressure Points’ – a Q&A with a player about football and off-field matters. Mesut Ozil informs us that if his house was on fire, the three things he’d take would be his dog, his phone and a football. The Arsenal Ladies get two pages, and then we move on to some history – a regular feature this season – ‘That Sums It All Up’. Three pages on a game from the 1997/98 double season. in this edition, the 3-3 draw at Leicester is recalled by the Foxes’ defender Matt Elliot.
‘In the Mix’ is two pages of history stats, but ‘Exhibit Arsenal’ is better – three pages about an item in the Arsenal Museum, in this case season tickets from the late 19th Century. There are six pages on the opposition, the pick of which is the Scouting Report from Zonal Marking’s Michael Cox. There’s a five page interview with a current player, in this instance Petr Cech. There are seven pages at the back titled ‘The Breakdown’ – mainly stats and fixtures/results, but with one good Chalkboard page on a player’s contribution in a previous game. We end with a one page fan Q&A entitled ‘My Arsenal’.
I’ve put in bold and underline the features which I think are worth taking the time to read, but the bottom line is that you could probably get through all of them at half time if you had no distractions (such as the Highbury Spy conversing with you). So £3.50 for 15 minutes’ reading? I think I’ll pass. Now, the latest issue of The Gooner on the other hand – well that’s a different kettle of fish.
