Our Programme

Bought one yesterday to keep up my record of 1 programme a season since 1956. Got to be the worst advert for the club in existence. I know it's only £2 but it's not even worth that. Best & most comprehensive part is the opposition section which comprises 20%, 4 pages of 20. Also the best part & very comprehensive, I suppose because it doesn't cost us anything,  probably written by the opponents. 5 pages of adverts ie 25%! 2 for fixtures, 1 for both squads listed with numbers.

We can do better than this!

bonson&hunt wrote:Bought one yesterday to keep up my record of 1 programme a season since 1956. Got to be the worst advert for the club in existence. I know it's only £2 but it's not even worth that. Best & most comprehensive part is the opposition section which comprises 20%, 4 pages of 20. Also the best part & very comprehensive, I suppose because it doesn't cost us anything,  probably written by the opponents. 5 pages of adverts ie 25%! 2 for fixtures, 1 for both squads listed with numbers.

We can do better than this!

Its becoming worse year on year. My guess is that as sales decline it's seen of lesser importance. Are clubs required to produce a programme by the relevant authorities? I'd prefer they looked at producing an e-programme which without the priniting costs could be produced cheaper, or produced at the same cost but with much more content...

Yes, but like letters & postcards no record of it.

With mobile phones having Internet connection the reality is that there is plenty of halftime or the hour before the match reading material available for free. Who in their right mind who can read this board, the other board, the BBC sports pages, Sky Sports material and watch 12 minute long highlights of County games is going to fork out good money for a programme?

I loved caravan holidays in Tenby. Unfortunately these days an hotel on the Costa del Sol comes cheaper. I loved playing war games with my mates when I was 10. I fought 10 million battles and then went in for tea. These days the latest PlayStation ends all childhood imagination. We may not like it, but the things of yesteryear which we so cherished are long gone. And football programmes are on the way out.

It was ever thus. The gramophone was replaced by the record player was replaced by the music centre was replaced by the CD Player was replaced by the digital download. And 50 years from now when us oldies will no longer be here, it's a pretty safe bet that old men will look back with nostalgia at the long obsolete joys of their youth.

Very true Stan, but still sad. It was the pandemic which changed our Programme, before that it was £4.50 but worth every penny.

bonson&hunt wrote:Very true Stan, but still sad. It was the pandemic which changed our Programme,  before that it was £4.50 but worth every penny.

I think the current programme is possibly overpriced at £2. I have bought one for the two first home games - v Doncaster to be able to indentify players initially by their numbers and then again v Accrington because I forgot to bring the Doncaster programme with me and was unsure I'd be able to identify all the County players without their numbers to hand.

I'll probably have to buy another one for Port Vale if we have another one or two players to add to the mix...

Duncan has done a great job just securing a programme for the season.
Unfortunately it is going the way of online issues even at local level now.
Remember if the Swansea way is followed they have not produced for the last few seasons.
To lose 'the exile' in whatever printed format would be a travesty.

UskExile wrote:Duncan has done a great job just securing a programme for the season.
Unfortunately it is going the way of online issues even at local level now.
Remember if the Swansea way is followed they have not produced for the last few seasons.
To lose 'the exile' in whatever printed format would be a travesty.

I hope you don't think I was criticising the efforts for the team that produce the programmes, because that was not my intent. I've generally been a fan of programmes and a regular buyer of them for decades. I suspect with the declining number of sales, less money is allocated to the programme producing budget. And it shows. There's less information about the club in general, noticeably nothing about the Academy any more and the opposition is selected players pen pictures and write ups, not the whole squad. Look Back In Amber is still a decent read but where there used to be other worthy articles to read, now there's nothing. And if you're able to skim through it all in a couple of minutes tops, then you're unlikely to purchase again.

It's in a death spiral which may even see it not last the season...

No not at all mate, like yourself just fear that the end of tradition could be near